The Brightest Star
by Mismoree
Summary: In a strange twist of fate, Naruto is sent back in time six months before the Kyuubi's attack. But why? Was it to change the past? To find out the truth about himself? To gain a family? He wasn't sure. He didn't think too deep into it, though. After all, Naruto is only six years old.  Time Travel fic, gen.
1. Chapter 1: Theoretically Speaking

AN: After 6 sticks of mint chocolate chip gum, the first chapter of my first real story is complete! As this is my first story, there will definitely be an abundance of grammar errors. (I have serious problems with past/present/future tenses) Feel free to point them out; I won't be offended! Enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or the characters in it. If I did, the series would probably suck.

Word Count: 2,294 words

Chapter 1: Theoretically Speaking

* * *

It was a chilly morning, yet the streets of Konoha bustled with activity. It was market day, and even in the earliest hours of the day hundreds of people filled the streets to shop for necessary goods and admire expensive antiques. Savory smells from nearby bakeries wafted through the air; high-end shoppers haggling with merchants were almost everywhere in sight; children loudly begging their parents for that shiny new toy could be heard clearly through the standard market noise.

Yes, this was the chaos that was market day. However, amidst the chaos, a little boy dressed in tattered clothes desperately sprinted through the crowd of people, a balding middle aged man hot on his trail.

"Thief! Get back here, you monster!"

Naruto stumbled over the rocky path, frantically getting back to his feet to avoid the angry merchant behind him. Thin legs buckled as exhaustion began to settle in, and he swerved quickly to avoid running into anyone.

He clutched desperately onto the old loaf of bread in his hands as his stomach gave another lurch. He didn't mean to steal; really he didn't. But Naruto hadn't eaten in two days, ever since his monthly allowance ran out (it wasn't his fault they overcharged him for everything!), and as usual no one showed any sympathy. After all, he was the _demon brat_; let the thing starve, they say.

But he had finally given in to his hunger and stole some bread from a bakery. He even made sure to pick the oldest loaf from the far end of the shelf, as it was the lowest priced, and he didn't want to steal more than he had to. Naruto doubted it would sell anyways, and knew it would've probably just been thrown out at the end of the day.

The merchant didn't care either way, however, so Naruto ran away as to not suffer the merchant's wrath. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your perspective, he had plenty of experience in escaping from angry citizens. It wouldn't be the first time he was forced to steal, anyways.

Naruto heard the shouting behind him get louder and louder; the man was catching up! Among the man's shouts and screams were several other voices; Naruto guessed that more people had joined in the chase. Naruto sped up his pace, and looked around for any escape in sight.

There! A small gap rested between two tall buildings. A perfect hiding place. It was surrounded by two other stands, so if Naruto was lucky he could dart through unnoticed.

Swiftly Naruto changed direction, bolted into the small alley, and held his breath. He could hear the shouts of the mob getting farther, farther away, until they subsided altogether.

He let out a sigh of relief and checked to make sure the bread was still intact. Luckily for him it had only been slightly squished from his tight grip.

He couldn't help but feel a sliver of guilt, though. Maybe he should've just scavenged for berries in the woods, even though he had no way of telling the poisonous ones apart. Even if the man was just as condescending and mean-spirited as the rest of the village, Naruto still felt bad about stealing from him.

"...sorry," he mumbled quietly, as if the merchant could hear him.

But his stomach gave another uncomfortable lurch, and any previous hesitations he may have had vanished as he ravenously tore into the fruits of his labor.

* * *

Naruto lay on the ground and gazed up at the night sky, hands tucked under his head. Millions of bright specks shimmered in the black canvas that was the sky; it was a wonderful sight to behold. Even with cold air biting at his skin, and the tickling sensation on his legs that he knew from experience were insects, Naruto couldn't help but sigh in content. It was moments like these that made him forget why he was sad in the first place.

"_But Oboro-san, rent isn't due for three more days!"_

"_I don't care, brat! Don't even think of coming back here until you can pay up!"_

"_I'll have the money for rent tomorrow, I promise! Just please don't kick me out!"_

"_I don't want to hear another word, you monster! Now get out of my sight before you regret it!"_

Oh yeah... Right. Oboro-san, the landlord of his apartment, decided for 'no particular reason'to demand early rent payments this month. Again.

And because he doesn't get his monthly allowance from Jiji until tomorrow, Naruto was left on the streets for the night. And like all the other nights he spent outside, Naruto went to a place where no one else was; the top of the Hokage Mountain. According to the law he technically wasn't supposed to be up there, but since when has something like that stopped him? And Naruto didn't want to ask Jiji for help; he was already enough of a hassle, and besides, he could take care of himself!

Naruto shivered as the cool night breeze picked up, and removed his hands from behind his head to hug himself, trying to retain any body warmth he could. He tried to place these uncomfortable feelings in the back of his head, and focused on the bright stars above him. Naruto once attempted to count them all once when he was younger, but fell asleep at number two thousand forty-eight.

Jiji once told him that each star was the soul of a deceased person, and that whenever someone died a new star would appear in the sky. Naruto absentmindedly wondered how many more stars would be in the sky in ten years, and after a little thinking went back to stargazing. He noticed how some stars were duller than others, and how some were so bright that they appeared to swallow up the entire sky.

'_I wonder, when I die, will I be a bright star? Or will I be a dull one?'_ Naruto pondered. His mouth then upturned into a small smile, and his eyes shone with determination not normally found on the face of a six year old.

'_I'll make sure that when I die I'll be one of those bright stars! I'll do whatever it takes!'_ he vowed to himself silently. _'In fact, I'll be the brightest star in the whole sky!' _Naruto closed his eyes and imagined it; oh, it was such a great plan! He would be the biggest and brightest star in the sky, so that whenever anyone looked up, they could still see him even after he died! Then they would have to acknowledge his existence! They had to!

And little did Naruto know that when he made that promise to himself, two stars in the sky glistened brighter than all the rest.

Naruto opened his eyes again after several minutes of day- err, night dreaming, when a sudden thought struck him.

'_I wonder… are my parents up there? Jiji told me they died in the Kyuubi attack six years ago, so they must be,_' Naruto wondered how Jiji knew that, since he claimed he never knew who Naruto's parents were. He shoved that idea into the back of his mind, however, and dreamt of the parents he never had.

Naruto shut his eyes tightly, determined not to shed a single tear.

"Mom… Dad… I wish I knew who you were," Naruto quietly whispered, and couldn't help but let a single tear slip past his eye and trickle down his face. "I wish you were still alive. I wish… I wish we could've been a family!" Naruto rubbed his wet eyes with the back of his hand: he wouldn't cry, he _wouldn't!_

Abruptly, Naruto felt a strong wind behind him; a stark difference from the cool breeze of earlier. He stood up quickly, only for the wind to knock him back to the ground. He got up again – slowly, this time – and turned around to face what was behind him. And, needless to say, it wasn't anything he expected.

A figure stood, tall and imposing, a billowing cloak adorning its form. Naruto could discern nothing else about it. It was cloaked in – white? black? Naruto couldn't tell; it was too dark outside. The figure appeared to melt into the background, and it was difficult to distinguish it from the surroundings behind it. Naruto couldn't help but feel as if he should be honored to witness this sight; as if he should be bowing in respect.

'Should' being the keyword. This _is_ Naruto, after all.

"Hey! Who are you?" Naruto yelled at the figure. No one else should be up here! This was _his _secret place, _his _sanctuary; no one else could be here! Technically Naruto wasn't supposed to be here either, but he chose to ignore that detail for now. A minute or so passed by, yet no response came from the figure.

"Hello? Did you hear me? Who are you?"

The figure remained silent.

"Hey, you! Are you ignoring me? Can you even talk?" Naruto asked angrily. He was so sick and tired of being ignored! By the villagers, by the teachers at the academy, and this guy too! He was _sick_ of it! Just because he was an orphan, just because he didn't have a family didn't give them the right!

"**Very Well**."

The direction the voice came from was unclear. Was it from behind him? Next to him? Above him? Naruto couldn't tell. All he knew was that the voice reverberated power, strength, wisdom, and age.

"Huh? 'Very well'? 'Very well' to what? Hello?" Naruto questioned rapidly. Was this guy crazy or something?

But the figure gave no sign that he heard Naruto's inquiries. Its head bowed down a little, and the figure's arms clasped together in front of it. Naruto wondered what it was doing; maybe it was going to do one of those awesome jutsu he'd seen those jounin use at the training grounds!

And quite unexpectedly, it promptly vanished. Just like that. If not for the strong wind still brewing, Naruto probably would've convinced himself it was a hallucination. After all, there was no way that huge windstorm came from the little breeze from earlier!

The wind's ferocity increased. Naruto threw his arms up to shield his face, and dug his feet into the ground to avoid falling over. What was going on? Naruto had never felt a wind like this in his entire life! And he was already six whole years old! The fierce wind only got fiercer, stronger, and harsher; it was almost unnatural. No, it _was_ unnatural.

Eventually Naruto's feet could hold no longer hold himself up. With a shout of surprise, Naruto was flung into the air, like a leaf in a breeze, limp and helpless to defend itself. Naruto did not that feeling.

And then he could see the Hokage's carved faces in front of him. He absently observed the lack of a wart on Jiji's face, and also noticed that the heads were getting smaller… and smaller… and smaller.

'_Why are their heads getting smaller? And why does it feel like I'm fall-' _Naruto's train of thought was cut off as he suddenly realized what was going on.

He was falling.

The wind _blew _him off the Hokage Mountain! Right off! But details weren't important now.

He was falling!

He was _falling_!

Naruto frantically tried moving his arms upwards, as if he was at the bottom of a lake trying to swim to the surface. His efforts were in vain, however, as Naruto could see the Hokage's heads getting farther and farther away… and the ground closer and closer.

The last thing Naruto saw was the Yondaime's carved face, but it appeared to be looking right at him.

And as he hit the ground with a resounding crack, hundreds of stars faded from the sky, including two that had shined unusually brightly earlier.

* * *

_You see, the theory of time travel is a delicate topic. Hypothetically, if one were to send their mind to the past, it would be impossible for them to coexist with their previous selves. Having two sentient beings comprised in one brain would be a complete and utter paradox. Two minds couldn't live in one. Therefore, their mind state from the past would be erased from existence, to be replaced by their future mind states. This would have to happen for the time travel theory to be logical._

_However, it would also be a paradox to send your mind and body to the past, yet a differing one. It would not be possible to have two of the same person living in the same time period. You would experience thoughts that weren't yours, and yet at the same time they were. You would have feelings that weren't yours, and yet at the same they were. Because of this, both you and your past self would die of insanity before long, unable to differentiate between eachother._

_So, to make the time travel theory realistic, only one of you would be able to live._

_If your past self lived instead of you, then any type of time travel becomes irrelevant; you would still only be dead._

_So, theoretically, to make time travel plausible, the mind and body of your past self would cease to exist._

_And as you cease to exist in the past, you cease to exist in the future. And as you cease to exist in the future, it becomes impossible for you to go back to your own time. You would no longer be in the past. Your past would become your present._

_Theoretically speaking, of course._

* * *

_And a little ways away, a woman with long crimson-red hair collapsed to the floor screaming in pain, her hands clutched tightly around her midsection._

* * *

AN: So… How'd I do? I know it's short, but I couldn't think of what else I should put in. I tried to make the time travel theory sound intelligent and convincing (not too sure how that worked out). I came up with it myself, so it probably has a few patches here and there. And in this story, Naruto entered the academy at age six, so he's currently in the middle of his first year. Anyways, if I did a good/bad/horrifying job, let me know! Thanks! And also, this story is currently unbetaed, so if you would like to beta it please let me know!


	2. Chapter 2: Fatherhood

**AN: Well, when I checked my email, I seriously almost had a heart attack. People are actually **_**reading**_** this? I was so surprised I actually sprayed coffee all over my computer's monitor (I am soooo glad I wasn't on my new laptop!) And I kept getting more emails! Thank you so much to everyone who read this! And I know this chapter took a while to get out, so I'm hoping it will be worth the wait. It's a little longer than the last one, and if we're lucky they'll keep getting longer.**

**Note: This chapter contains SPOILERS! I'm assuming most of you are up to date with the manga; if you haven't read the truth behind the Kyuubi attack, then be warned.**

**Oh, and just for the record, the disclaimer from Chapter 1 applies to all future chapters.**

**Word Count: 4,113**

**Chapter 2: Fatherhood**

* * *

When Kushina told Minato she was pregnant, he felt a flurry of emotions besides just shock.

The first, obviously, was joy. Kushina was having a baby! No, _they_ were having a baby! Minato himself had been an orphan, and the thought of a family, a _real_ _family_, made him beam. He thought about how he had seen other fathers act. How one father from the park threw his baby up and down in the air, the baby laughing and smiling, the father with the brightest grin stretched across his face. How one father from a prestigious clan strictly instructed their child in the family taijutsu style at a nearby training ground, yet proud smiles slipped past the emotionless façade when he thought no one was looking. Minato wondered what type of father he would be. But that wasn't important right now. _He_ was going to be a _father_! Fatherhood was imminent!

The second was worry. Was Minato really ready to be a father? He knew he still had six or so months before the baby was born to get ready, but still. And what about the baby? Would Kushina's status as the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki affect the child's development? And how would their child grow up? Their baby would be the child of one of Konoha's top kunoichi, the Bloody Habanero, and the Yondaime Hokage, Konoha's Yellow Flash, the Hero of the Third Great Shinobi World War. Which, by the way, means that many assassins would be sent for blood after all the damage he had caused in the war. But assassination attempts aside, would their baby become spoiled with all of the attention being the Hokage's daughter or son would have? Or grow up to be a hardened warrior by the age of six? No, Minato decided instantly, he would never let that happen. His baby would have a childhood, a normal childhood. He would make sure of it.

The third was determination. Minato _would _be a good father, he _would_ protect his son from enemy shinobi, he _would _do everything in his power to make sure his kid had the best damn life he could have. He _would_! He _had to. _

And while all of these thoughts brewed in Minato's mind, he stood there with a blank, stupefied look on his face.

Kushina chuckled, almost shaking Minato out of his stupor. With a gleam in her eyes, and a mischievous look on her face, she leaned forward, put one hand on her hip, and poked him in the nose with the other.

"What, cat got your tongue?" she asked teasingly. "Don't you have anything you want to say?"

Minato _did_, in fact, have something he wanted to say, several things actually. _Are you serious, congratulations, when are you due, do you know the gender, are you sure you're serious_; the list went on. But Minato couldn't find his voice. Words had simply left him. Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage, The Yellow Flash of Konoha, was struck speechless for one of the few times in his life. In his attempt to put into words exactly what he was thinking, the so-called former child prodigy managed to come up with the following.

"Are... but... you... when... do you... How?" Minato tried his hardest to string together a coherent sentence, really he did. Kushina had already collapsed on the floor in hysterics. She did manage, however, to hear that last word, and attempted to stifle her laughter in order to give a response. She couldn't let the opportunity pass.

"_How_? Well, _darling_, when a man and a woman love each other _oh so very, very _much, they-" Kushina was interrupted by a hand desperately trying to cover her mouth. She burst out laughing again. Minato blushed.

"I know how it happened, Kushina! I just," Minato stumbled a bit over his words, but his language skills had still seen a vast improvement from earlier, "I just... well, we're... we're having a baby!" Minato finished lamely. He still hadn't gotten over it, and he probably wouldn't for another... oh, maybe twenty, thirty or so years.

Minato was half-expecting her to joke that 'actually,_ she_ was having the baby, not we,' but Kushina surprised him again when her face softened into a small yet sincere smile. She got up from the floor she had been laughing hysterically on earlier, and marched forward until she was right in front of Minato. She looked into his eyes slowly nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Minato. We're going to have a baby," she replied, her voice thick with emotion. She closed the gap between them with a hug, a simple hug, yet the gesture itself told more than words ever could. Minato returned the gesture, and wrapped a pair of strong arms around her waist, content to stand there holding her.

"...A baby."

"...Mhmm."

Minato wasn't sure how long they stood there enveloped in each others arms, but at the moment time really didn't matter. Minato could stand there forever, and every worry of his would just fly away. Hokage duties, father worries, everything became irrelevant.

It was just Kushina and him.

Even now, Minato still couldn't believe how lucky he was. Here he was, married to the most beautiful, fiery, spunky, loud, kind, amazing, every positive adjective in the book, especially unpredictable woman, who astonished him time and time again when they first met.

He still didn't understand her sometimes, and they were married! She always managed to surprise him, in so many more ways than one.

But that's what made him fall in love with her in the first place, after all.

* * *

And, since Minato believed any good thing relating to Kushina was worth celebrating, later that same day he invited over a few close friends to share the news with. This included Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Rin.

Of course, their celebration was a little... eccentric, to say the least. Jiraiya was currently passed out on the couch, several empty sake bottles scattered nearby. Kakashi and Kushina were playing poker (with Kakashi's losses almost reaching triple digits). Rin, having already fawned for hours over Kushina's pregnancy, was sitting nearby watching, inwardly laughing when Kakashi never noticed Kushina exchanging cards from her hand with ones in her sleeves. Luckily for Kakashi, they weren't playing for money... yet.

Minato eyed the clock on the wall, noting with surprise that it was already two in the morning. Since when did time pass so quickly?

Well, the celebration was pretty much over anyways, so Minato decided he would spare Kakashi from any more poker defeats, even though it was his own fault he didn't notice Kushina's cheating skills, and ask everyone to leave.

"Well, it's getting pretty late. You two should probably be getting home soon," Minato said. Kakashi looked up, a hint of relief in his eyes as he put his cards down, and stood up quickly. Kushina and Rin looked disappointed.

"Aww!" Rin spoke out in protest. "Can't we stay the night? I know for certain you have lots of extra rooms in this house, and it's too late to go home now!" Kakashi shrugged; he didn't really mind going home now, but he didn't mind staying either.

"Sure you can!" Kushina agreed, nodding her head with fervor. "That's fine, right Minato?" She already knew the answer, but asked anyways.

"Of course! You two are always welcome here, don't forget that," Minato replied. "But you're going to have to help clean up after this old drunk," he stated, pointing at the sake bottles surrounding Jiraiya, who was still passed out on the couch.

Jiraiya snored in response.

Kakashi, who had picked up after the old hermit so many times before, was about to get the broom before Kushina cut him off.

"No, it's okay, I got it," Kushina said, broom already in hand as she walked over to the piles of broken glass. She wasn't a frail housewife; just because she was pregnant didn't mean she was going to laze around and do nothing!

Minato was about to jokingly patronize Kakashi for making a pregnant woman work, even though this was Kushina they were talking about, who would still try to take on a mission with 8 broken ribs and a broken leg, when it happened.

Kushina collapsed onto the floor with a bloodcurdling scream, her hands tightly wrapped around her stomach.

For a mere second, everyone froze. Jiraiya, who was out like a light before, awoke with a start, and even in his intoxicated state looked for the danger.

Chaos began.

"Kushina!" "Kushina-san!" "KUSHINA!"

Kakashi, who was closest to Kushina, made a move forward, but Minato was there in an instant, arms wrapped around her body, trying to alleviate her pain. Minato tried to mask his panic; what was wrong? What could he do? Was it the baby? _What was going on?_

"Kushina! Kushina, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?" Minato asked fearfully.

Kushina let out one last scream before she fell limp in his arms; she was unconscious. Was it from pain? Exhaustion? Minato didn't know, but at the moment it didn't matter. Kushina needed help.

"Rin!" Minato called, and Rin was by Kushina's side in a second, green chakra already visible on her hands. Minato rolled Kushina onto her back, and Rin instantly ran her hands over Kushina's stomach, searching and searching for what was wrong.

Rin, although an accomplished medic-nin, couldn't find any logical reason for Kushina's abrupt collapse. This was far beyond anything a medic of her caliber could diagnose.

At this point, Jiraiya had gotten up from the couch and was nearly sober. He appeared to realize Rin's dilemma, and Kushina's less-than-well state, and put his hands together in a handseal.

"Minato! Get her to the hospital _now_! I'll go find Tsunade and bring her there!" Jiraiya barked out, before he vanished. Tsunade was supposed to get back from a mission today; if not, she would've been at the celebration with the rest of them. Jiraiya could only hope that she was at least sober enough to help. If there was one person who could out drink Jiraiya, it was Tsunade, and it wasn't often he found her without a sake bottle in hand.

Minato nodded, and picked up Kushina with the utmost of care, one hand under her knees, the other supporting her back. Kushina still hadn't awoken. He turned towards Kakashi and Rin

"You two wait here!" He shouted quickly to them. And with Kushina in his arms, he still managed to form a handseal, and vanished in a flash of yellow.

When Minato invented the Hiraishin, he placed Hiraishin seals at every place of importance; his and Kushina's house, the Hokage Tower, the hospital, and a new ramen stand that opened called Ichiraku's. _Definitely_ Ichiraku's. It was safe to say that the only thing Minato loved more than ramen was Kushina. Needless to say, it was his favorite food. Kushina, on the other hand...

_"When I lived Whirlpool, the war brought poverty to my family, and when we weren't eating ration bars it was ramen ramen ramen! We couldn't afford much of anything else. So whenever I eat ramen, it brings back memories of the war... memories of death... I hate it."_

Minato saw Kakashi and Rin's worried faces fade away, to be replaced by the clean, pristine environment of the hospital's lobby. Minato was extremely thankful that the hospital was open at two in the morning. Several people around him jumped up in shock, surprised looks on their faces. After all, it wasn't everyday the Yondaime Hokage randomly appeared in a hospital lobby with a woman in his arms. Minato paid them no heed.

"I need a medic over here!" Minato yelled. When no one made a move, most likely frozen in shock, he lost some patience. "_Hurry!_ She needs help _now_!" His voice was strong, and emanated power and knowledge, clearly proving he was Hokage for a reason.

His voice shook them back to reality, and within moments he was laying the woman he loved on a stretcher, his hand loosely clutching her hair before she was whisked away in a flurry. Minato stood there numbly, his mind focused on only one thing.

'_Kushina...'_

Minato had been in the lobby for approximately five minutes before the front doors flung wide open, and there was Tsunade, in all her glory, Jiraiya close behind. If he didn't have an image to uphold as the Yondaime Hokage, he would've cried in relief. Tsunade, said to be the greatest medic-nin of her time, and someone he thought of as a mother figure, was here to help Kushina, and Minato felt some more hope creep back into his being.

Tsunade didn't stop to chat; actually, she didn't even spare him a glance. She crossed the room in a few long strides before flinging open the emergency room doors on the other side. Minato caught the look of worry on her face, because even if she wouldn't admit it, Minato was pretty sure she had a soft spot for Kushina.

Jiraiya spotted Minato standing there idly, and paused to tell him more about what was going on.

"Tsunade wants me to examine Kushina as well," Jiraiya explained, "because she thinks her pain may have something to do with the seal." Jiraiya gave him a long look, before turning around and following Tsunade into the emergency room.

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Did the Kyuubi have something to do with this? And why now of all times? Did the Kyuubi do something to Kushina and his unborn child? Or was he just messing with the seal? Minato knew that the seal weakened during childbirth, maybe this was related to that. No, it couldn't be; Kushina wasn't due for another six months. But did the effects begin even before the baby was due? Maybe. But maybe it didn't have anything to do with the Kyuubi, maybe it was just pregnancy pains. But no, it couldn't be that either. Minato _knew _that Kushina wouldn't pass out over something like that; she would practically_ die_ of embarrassment.

Minato was stumped. And when it was Kushina's safety on the line, Minato would not stand for it.

He could only rely on Tsunade and Jiraiya's expertise to figure out what was wrong.

He had to...

...

"HELP! Someone please get over here! _WE NEED HELP_!"

Minato's inner debate was cut off as he flung his head around towards the direction of the scream, the hospital doors.

Standing by the hospitals entrance were four people; three were huddled together, the fourth waving his hands around and screaming for help. Minato recognized him as Imazawa Tetsuro, a civilian who ran a clothes business. Minato knew him because, well, his trademark flame patterned cloak didn't sew itself! Minato knew Tetsuro as a calm, mild-mannered man, and had never seen him panic like this before.

Minato, being the good Hokage that he was, and because he was genuinely worried, ran up to them. He noticed that the three other civilians appeared to be carrying some sort of package, but he couldn't get a close enough look to see what it was.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Minato questioned. Tetsuro halted his frantic screams for a second and looked over at him. Quickly getting over the fact that the _Yondaime Hokage _was speaking to him,he answered quickly.

"It's this little boy! We found him at the base of the Hokage Mountain!" Tetsuro exclaimed. "We don't think he has much time left!"

Minato felt a growing sense of dread, and as he finally got a look at what was in the other three's arms, he realized with horror that they were holding a _human being_, not a package. It was a little boy, in fact; Minato guessed him to be about four or five years old. That fact wasn't what was horrifying, however. No, it was the state the boy was in.

Blonde hair, matted with blood.

Eyes closed tight, as if dead.

Clothes dyed dark red.

Limbs bent at odd angles.

It was a terrifying sight.

Minato refused to tear his eyes away from the child, and even though he kept his face calm, inside his heart clenched painfully. No child, _no child,_ should have to endure something like this! And, he wouldn't lie; there was just _something, something_ about this child, that made his heart tighten even more painfully.

Something... but what was it? A connection? Minato did not know; what he_ did_ know, however, was that he felt strongly protective over this child, even though he didn't even know the boy's name.

Minato moved aside when the medic-nin arrived, and as they were lifting the small boy onto the stretcher he decided that he would look after this child while he was in the hospital. It was probably because of the connection he felt. Minato still couldn't place a name to what he was feeling.

He had no idea that it was familial instinct.

The little boy, on a stretcher carried by 4 medics, was rushed into the emergency room, where Kushina had also been rushed into only minutes earlier.

Minato turned back to Tetsuro; he needed answers.

"Do you know how this happened?" Minato asked. "You said you found him at the bottom of the Hokage Mountain?" Minato wondered if someone had left him there. Was he attacked by a wild animal? There had to be_ some_ explanation!

Tetsuro nodded. "Yes," Tetsuro began, "he was right below your head, in fact. We don't have any idea who he is, I mean, we've never seen him around the village before. He was alone, too. With injuries like that, we believe that he jumped off the mountain."

Minato froze. "Do you mean..." he trailed off.

Tetsuro nodded again, a grim look on his face. "Yes," Tetsuro said forlornly. "We think he tried to kill himself."

Minato lowered his head, hair falling in front of his eyes, shielding them from view. Was life really terrible enough to drive a four year-old to suicide? Minato's heart ached for the child, it really did. He could only hope that life would become better for the boy, and if there was anything Minato could do to help, he was up for it.

At that moment, a nurse walked up to their group, a clipboard in hand. Her professional mask wavered a little as she saw the Hokage standing there as well, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Do any of you know who the guardian of that young boy is?" she asked. "We ran a blood identification test, but we are unable to find any record of him in our databases," she stated.

The four civilians shook their heads, and Minato did as well. But if Minato ever found out who the guardian of that boy was, he'd like to have a few words with them. What kind of guardians were they to drive a little boy to suicide? The nurse sighed.

"I see." The nurse made a note on her clipboard, and looked up at them. "This is unfortunate; without someone to put their name down as guardian, we can legally only give the minimum care available; enough to stabilize his condition," she clarified regretfully. Minato heard her mumble something under her breath; he could only make out '... all about money... what are they thinking...' And for Minato, the decision was all too easy.

"Write my name down," Minato ordered. The nurse and four civilians looked at him, stunned looks etched on their faces. Did they think he wasn't being serious?

The nurse looked at him doubtfully. "Are you sure?" she asked. "By putting your name down, medical charges will be in your name. You may even be asked to look after him if we cannot find a suitable caretaker," she warned.

But Minato was sure of himself, and he made this known vocally. "I'm positive," he stated with a nod. "Besides, I'm worried about the kid," he explained, "and if there's anything I can do to help, I'm all for it. And money isn't an issue; you have to make _some_ money as Hokage!" he joked.

The nurse smiled gratefully. "I'm sure that that little boy will appreciate it." She wrote something down on her clipboard, and with that she turned around and walked through the emergency room doors.

The four civilians that had brought the little boy in said their thanks, since they also wanted to see the boy get better, and left soon after. And once again, Minato was left alone in the emergency room.

'_I might as well sit down... this might take a while,'_ Minato thought to himself, and, finding a seat in the corner of the room, prepared himself for the long hours to come. He wished he had brought a book or something, but at the time it wasn't really his highest priority.

Minato must've been waiting there until at least morning, because when Tsunade and Jiraiya finally exited the emergency room light was already filtering through the windows.

Minato's heart skipped several beats when he saw the grim looks on their face, and his blood ran ice cold.

'_No...'_

Minato stood up quickly, not even bothering to stretch his limbs as his attention was entirely focused on the two people in front of him.

"What did you find out? Is Kushina okay? Why did she collapse like that? Did it-" Minato's interrogation was cut off simply by Jiraiya raising his hand. Minato looked at him, but Jiraiya shook his head and nodded towards Tsunade.

Tsunade appeared to mentally prep herself before she began talking.

"Minato..." Tsunade began, "Kushina is all right. We've stabilized her, she's resting, and she's going to be okay."

Minato let out a breath of relief he hadn't realized he had been holding; Kushina was going to be all right! But, then why did Tsunade and Jiraiya both have _that _look on their faces?

"Well, that's great!" Minato exclaimed "But why do you two look unhappy? There's nothing else wrong, right?" Minato forced a laugh, because deep down he knew that there had to be something else wrong.

Tsunade took a deep breath.

"When I examined Kushina, she had a severe injury in her stomach. She had internal bleeding in her abdomen." Tsunade explained to him. "When I took a closer look, it appeared as if part of her abdomen was forcibly removed. Ripped out of existence, in other words. There was no sign of any surgery. It just... disappeared. It's like nothing I've ever seen before."

Minato thought about this; ripped out from existence? Was something like that even possible? Well, apparently, because it happened to Kushina. Minato's heart clenched again; something like that had to have been extremely painful. Minato was relieved that Kushina was okay, at least.

"... That can't be all. You can transplant the missing part, right?" Minato inquired. "So, what's the catch?"

Tsunade looked down at the floor, and took another deep breath. _How was she going to break the news to him?_ Regaining her resolve, she raised her head and looked him straight in the eyes.

"The part of her that was affected... was her womb. Her baby is gone, Minato. That isn't something I can heal."

Silence.

Kushina's baby was gone? _Their_ baby? Gone?

No, it couldn't be true! It couldn't!

But it was, Minato realized with horror; it _was_ true.

Before Minato could reflect on the matter, Jiraiya spoke up.

"There's more, however." Jiraiya declared.

Minato, a hollow feeling in his entire body, was about to ask what else could possibly be wrong, before deciding against it. He inwardly collected his composure, and worded his question differently.

"... More bad news?" Minato asked, no emotion audible in his voice.

Jiraiya shifted his balance. "Well... we'll let you be the judge of that," he said vaguely.

Minato, even if his face didn't show it, was confused. "What do you mean?"

Jiraiya, like Tsunade, wasn't quite sure how to word this, but for different reasons. "Well, after Tsunade stabilized Kushina, she still wanted me to take a look at the seal, to see if the Kyuubi had anything to do with the death of Kushina's baby," he began.

Minato was concerned at this point. "So, what did you find?" Minato questioned.

"Nothing," Jiraiya said bluntly.

With everything that had happened in the past 24 hours, Minato's patience was at it's end. "'Nothing'? So nothing was wrong? Then why is it important?"

"No, I found _nothing_. There was _nothing_ there," Jiraiya clarified. "The seal was still intact, which means it couldn't have been an extraction, but the fact remains the same."

"Minato, the Kyuubi is gone."

* * *

**AN: And that's chapter 2! Just wondering, was that first scene okay? I have no experience in romance (I'm only thirteen, gimme a break!), so if it's cheesy and sappy then that's probably why. Anyways, feedback is always appreciated! I'm always looking to improve my writing skills. (Or lack thereof. ;) Thanks!**

**P.S: I'm sorry I made Kushina hate ramen! I thought it was a twist from what you normally see in other fanfics, so I hope it's not too big of a deal.**


	3. Chapter 3: I'm Naruto!

**AN: Well, here's chapter 3! I spent the whole weekend finishing it, so I hope you all like it. The chapter may start off a little boring (I don't like to rush things), but Minato finally meets Naruto! I hope that makes up for it. Oh, and by the way, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter! Anyways, on with the story! **

**Chapter 3: I'm Naruto!**

**Word Count: 4,124**

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"_Minato, the Kyuubi is gone."_

Minato was shocked. This was no ordinary shock, however. This was shock at its finest. While Minato had felt this emotion several times in the past twenty four hours, the kind he was feeling now put all others to shame.

The Kyuubi was gone? The _Kyuubi_... was _gone_? How was this possible?

Minato understood the process of extracting a demon: it involved invalidating the seal through several forbidden techniques. Countless different ways to extract a demon had been invented over time, some more dangerous then others.

But all of these techniques had one thing in common. To extract the demon, you needed to remove the seal.

So then, how could the seal still be intact?

It couldn't be possible. It _shouldn't_ be possible. Something as illogical as this... Minato couldn't even begin to fathom how it happened, and from the looks of it, neither could Jiraiya or Tsunade. Well, actually, maybe they _did_ have a clue as to what happened.

"... Gone?" Minato asked, his voice filled with disbelief. "How could it be gone?" Minato had already begun to roll ideas around in his head.

It was Jiraiya who answered. "We aren't sure," Jiraiya began, "In fact, we honestly have no idea. I am positive, however, that the Kyuubi's disappearance has something to do with the disappearance of Kushina's unborn baby."

Minato had figured as much. Two completely impossible occurrences happening at the same time; how could they _not_ be related?

"Minato," Tsunade said, "What do you think of this?"

Minato frowned. This could be both a curse and a blessing in disguise. For one, what if the Kyuubi really was extracted, and it was now in the hands of the enemy? With a seal no longer imprisoning it... He didn't even want to imagine the possibilities.

On the other hand, what if the Kyuubi really had just disappeared? Vanished from the face of the planet? Kushina would no longer have to be a Jinchuuriki, and he knew that the world would be a better place without the malicious creature polluting it with its malevolence.

But Minato couldn't be sure. He had no way of knowing whether the disappearance of the demon was a blessing or not.

"I'm not sure," Minato confessed. "You said before that the seal was still intact, so it couldn't have been an extraction," he nodded to Jiraiya, "and I don't think it escaped on its own either. I honestly don't know what to think." Minato hated this; hated not knowing what had happened. It made him feel weak... helpless... Minato had never wanted to feel like this again.

"I see," Tsunade said with a sigh. She glanced at the clock on the wall, and turned to the exit. "I'll be on my way, then. Kushina's condition is stable, and the estimated time of release is three to five days," Tsunade explained, "but we know her; she's a strong woman. She'll probably be released in a day or two."

Tsunade's expression faltered a little. "There's one more thing," Tsunade admitted. "Kushina was awake for a little while earlier... long enough for me to tell her what happened. She fell back asleep soon after, so I'm not sure if she handled it well or not. I thought you'd like to know." And with that, she turned on her heel and walked out the door, leaving Minato to his thoughts.

It was safe to say Minato was worried. How had Kushina reacted? The loss of her unborn baby... had she taken it well? No, that was a terrible question; no prospective mother would've taken the news well. Minato could only hope that her spirits would lift again, eventually.

Jiraiya's eyes followed Tsunade, and even after she had taken her leave they still lingered on the door. He quickly shook himself out of his stupor, and turned back to Minato.

"I'll be off, then. You heard her: Kushina should be able to leave in a day or two," Jiraiya said, clasping his fingers together in a stretch. "In the meantime, I have some more research to do."

Minato sighed with exasperation. "Bath houses?"

Jiraiya glared at him. "You think so little of me, Minato!" he pouted. "But... Yes. Bath houses." Jiraiya let out a perverted giggle.

Minato wasn't even surprised anymore: he had grown used to Jiraiya's habits years ago. "Of course. I'll be waiting here until Kushina wakes up. If you wouldn't mind, could you let Kakashi and Rin know what's happened? They must be worried sick."

Jiraiya nodded. "Sure," he agreed, before walking towards the door. His hand reached out for the handle, but froze in midair.

"Minato," Jiraiya began, his voice lacking the childishness it contained earlier. "Be careful around Kushina. Think about how this ordeal has affected her," he finished seriously, and before Minato could answer he had already vanished through the doors.

Minato frowned. He didn't need Jiraiya to tell him that. He already knew to be careful. Minato could never imagine how this trial would affect Kushina, and he wouldn't know until she awoke. Minato guessed she would be ecstatic over the Kyuubi's disappearance, but as for the death of her unborn child...

No, he shouldn't assume things yet. He knew Kushina: she wouldn't let something like this rule the rest of her life. Of course, she wasn't heartless; she _would_ be upset. But she was strong, and she would overcome this.

He sat back down in the chair he had previously occupied, and, even if he _was _willing to wait for eternity for Kushina, dreaded the long hours to come. One could only spend so much time sitting still before suffering from insanity, and he really didn't want to push that limit.

And Minato didn't even want to _think_ of the paperwork that had accumulated in his office over the past day. With a shudder, he tried to forget about the documents from hell currently occupying his entire office. He had always laughed at the Sandaime when he was younger, unable to fathom why the old man had hated paperwork so much. Oh, he had no idea.

His mind wandered a little, unable to think of anything to think about. Eventually, he just decided to do some much needed reflecting on what had happened in the past day.

And he finally grasped the reality of the situation.

_'I'm not... I'm not going to be a father.'_

He had already known this, of course, but the fact had never sunken in entirely. He wasn't going to be a father. He_ wasn't_ going to be a father.

Previous visions of fatherhood filtered through his mind, one by one. Bedtime stories, trips to the park, meals at the ramen stand, walks to the academy.

Gone.

And with those thoughts invading his mind at a rapid pace, he realized something, erasing the uncertainty he had felt before. He really_ had _wanted to be a father. The haze of doubt clouding his mind earlier was gone, to be replaced by a dull ache in his heart. He could only hope that the anguish he was feeling would heal with time.

_'They say that you don't know what you have until it's gone,' _Minato thought with grief, _'but what if you never had it in the first place?'_

But even in his mourning, one stray thought managed to creep into his mind.

_'I wonder how that little boy is doing?_' he thought with worry. '_He was in a terrible state when he came in: hopefully the medics will have good news, and soon.'_ Even with all the bloodshed Minato had seen in his life, he surprisingly still managed to retain an optimistic attitude about wounds and injuries.

_'His parents must be worried sick, too...' _

Minato would not know until much later how ironic that thought had been.

A treacherous yawn escaped from his lips, and he felt his eyes begin to waver. Minato was suddenly reminded that he hadn't slept in over a day. Minato was slightly ashamed of himself; he used to be able to stay up for nights on end, primarily during the war. Office work really wasn't good for his health. Still...  
_  
'Well, I guess I could take a little nap... I should wake up in half an hour or so.'_

_

* * *

_

_Minato dreamed of the stars. _

_One shined brighter than the all the rest._

_He wondered what it meant._

* * *

"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama!"

Minato's eyes flickered open instantly, only to be attacked by the vicious bright lights. His eyes watered, and he blinked a few times, before looking at the person who had awoken him.

A young nurse stood in front of him, wearing a standard hospital uniform. She blushed a little, and her gaze flickered to the window. Minato subconsciously looked in the same direction, absentmindedly admiring the sunset.

Wait. Sunset?

Minato was on his feet in an instant.

"What time is it?" Minato asked the nurse quickly. "How long have I been asleep?"

"It is 4 o' clock, sir," the nurse said with a bow. "I apologize for waking you, but I was told to inform you that your wife has regained consciousness. She is currently residing in room 227, and has-" The young nurse was cut off, as Minato had already ran out of the room, already halfway up the stairs.

The nurse smiled to herself; inwardly she gushed at how romantic the whole thing was. She didn't know the gravity of what had happened, though; if she had, her perspective would be incredibly different.

He ran up the stairs to the second floor, and glanced at the door numbers while running down the hall.

_'224... 225... 226... There!'_

Minato bolted for the door, and he swerved quickly to avoid running into anyone. He finally reached room 227, but before he entered he stopped in his tracks, his hand held motionless on the doorknob.

'_This is it...'_ Minato breathed in deeply, trying to collect himself. _'You don't know how Kushina has dealt with this so far, and no matter what, you need to be there. To support her. You can do this.'_

He slowly turned the doorknob sideways, the door creaking open before he peeked inside.

Her hospital room was white, plain, and dreary, although Minato had to admit it looked slightly homelier than some he'd seen before. He figured a nicer hospital room was one of the perks of being married to the Hokage. A vase of flowers lay on the bedside table; Tsunade had probably left them there.

Kushina lay on the bed, propped up in an upright position with the help of several pillows. She saw him and greeted him with a big grin, practically exuding cheerfulness. If not for her suspiciously puffy, red eyes, Minato might've actually believed she was fine.

He knew better.

"How are you feeling?" he blurted out anxiously, forgetting greetings altogether.

Kushina smiled again in return. "Great! Nothing hurts, so I don't see why I'm still stuck here," she grumbled.

"You know that's not what I meant."

The smile slipped off her face. Her gaze was averted, finding interest in a small spot on the sheets. "Nothing ever gets past you, does it?" she asked with exasperation. "I don't know whether to be annoyed or grateful."

Personally, Minato hoped for the latter. After all, an annoyed Kushina was not a happy Kushina to be around.

She took a deep breath. "I just..." she confessed, "I just wanted to... to be a mother. Oh, Minato, I wanted to be a mother so much."

And his heart ached once again. He crossed the room to the small chair near her bed, sat down, and clasped her hands within his own.

"Life is terribly unfair sometimes: we both know that. And we all have options: we could wallow in grief, push it to the back of our minds, and forget about it. But I know you. You've been through so much, and have always come out on top, never letting it define who you are, never letting it change you for the worse. I know this won't be any different. I understand how you feel; I wanted to be a father so much as well. But we'll get through this. Together."

Kushina sighed in acceptance. "You always know exactly what to say, even if it is sappy," she muttered. But her face slipped back into a smile, this one small and meaningful. "Thanks."

Minato beamed back. "You would do the same for me, you know."

"Which reminds me; how are_you_ feeling? This couldn't have only fazed me, right?" Kushina asked rhetorically, because she knew Minato was affected by this just as much as she had been, if not more.

Minato's eyes tightened fractionally, and his former smile turned wistful. "Let's just say I realized how badly I wanted to be a father after it was too late. But I have to take my own advice. I won't let this define who I am, either."

They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments.

"And who knows," he wondered, "maybe another opportunity will show itself. Life's weird like that; you just got to look."

"Now you're just trying to sound philosophical," Kushina stated bluntly.

He laughed. "Maybe a little."

He was joined in his laughter by Kushina, and eventually after a few minutes of continuous laughter they had forgotten what was so funny in the first place, though they didn't care in the slightest.

At this moment, Minato heard a knock on the door, before another nurse opened the door. He recognized her as the concerned nurse with the clipboard from earlier.

The nurse peered inside the room, before sighing in relief when she saw Minato sitting inside. "Oh, good," she exclaimed, "I was hoping I would find you in here!"

Minato wondered why he was being sought out. "Is anything the matter?" he asked.

The nurse smiled and shook her head. "Oh, no, nothing's the matter. I just thought you'd like to know that that little blonde-haired boy you signed the papers for is fine, his condition is stable, and he's awake."

He stood up abruptly from where he was sitting, while inwardly sighing in relief. The little boy was going to be alright!

"He's okay? Which room is he in?"

Kushina blinked. "Who?" she asked with confusion.

Minato suddenly realized that he had never told Kushina about the injured child. "There was a little boy here last night with severe injuries," he explained. "We think he tried to kill himself by jumping off the Hokage Mountain."

Kushina gasped in horror, hands flying up to cover her mouth. "That's terrible!" she exclaimed. "The poor thing... And so young, too..."

He nodded in agreement. "The hospital couldn't identify who he was, so I put my name down as his guardian in order for him to receive full medical treatment," he clarified.

Kushina knew it was just like Minato to do something like that, and she was very thankful he did. But then she remembered something.

"Well then, what are you still doing here? Go on! Go see if he's okay!" she yelled vigorously. "Tell him I said hi, too!"

Minato nodded his head in affirmation. "I'll see you soon, and I'll let you know how he's doing." He turned to the nurse, who was still standing by the door, waiting patiently. "Which room is he in?"

The nurse made a beckoning motion with her hand. "I'll show you there myself," she said warmly, and walked outside into the hallway.

Minato smiled one last time at Kushina, before shutting the door behind him softly. He turned to follow the nurse down the hall.

"I spoke to him a little bit, earlier," the nurse spoke up as they were walking down the hall. "Just let me warn you... he's probably not what you're expecting."

Minato wondered what she meant by that. "Not what I'm expecting?" he asked.

The nurse gave an affirmative nod. "Yes," she said, "he is definitely not what you're expecting."

Minato was about to ask her for clarification, as her answer was decidedly vague, before the nurse stopped in front of door 246.

"Well, this is the room," she said. "I'll just be on my way then. Good luck!" And she walked away, presumably to do some other work.

Minato didn't enter the room immediately, instead electing to wait by the door while he tried to organize his thoughts.

'_All right, Minato,' _he thought to himself,_ 'you've got to approach this the right way. He just tried to kill himself, so he's probably reluctant to talk, and maybe shy and hesitant too._' But then Minato remembered what the nurse had said about the boy not being what he expected, and he became awfully curious.

Absentmindedly, Minato compared this to a while ago, when he had been standing in front of Kushina's hospital room, waiting nervously before mustering up the courage to enter.

And with that, he took a deep breath and opened the door.

The room was bare and plain, yet more so than Kushina's had been. There was also a glaring lack of flowers on the bedside table, and Minato made a mental note to stop by the flower shop at the soonest possible time.

The bare room only accentuated the bright haired child sitting upright in the bed.

Even before speaking to the boy, Minato could already tell his previous observations were inaccurate. He did not look shy and hesitant; in fact, his eyes gleamed with mischief, even with the bored look on his face as he fidgeted with the sheets. Minato took note of the boy's deep ocean blue eyes, similar to his own. Although, maybe Minato had been partially correct; there was an underlying tone of sadness held within the his eyes as well.

Minato also noticed the boy's lack of bandages covering his body. He was extremely curious; with the injuries he had seen on the boy, he should be covered head to toe in them! Either the boy's injuries weren't as bad as Minato had assumed, or the boy had a rapid healing rate. Personally, Minato thought it was the latter.

All in all, the boy exuded vibrancy; completely opposite from when Minato had last seen him. Did this joyful looking child really try to kill himself?

The young child looked up from where he had been fidgeting with the sheets, an excited look on his face.

"Jiji! Wha-" he began to say, but stopped when he noticed who was in the room, and it was certainly not Jiji.

'_Jiji?' _Minato wondered who he was talking about; he hoped that the boy wasn't referring to himself; Minato wasn't old, he was still in his twenties!

But the boy seemed to suddenly remember what had happened, and decided that he needed answers, and _now_.

"Hey! What happened earlier?" the boy asked loudly. "The last thing I remember is that _huge wind_, man, it was so huge it blew me off the Hokage Mountain! _Right off!_"

Minato was puzzled: so the boy _hadn't _tried to kill himself? He inwardly banged his head against a wall; he had only assumed that the boy had attempted suicide. He should've known better than to make assumptions like that. But what was that about a huge wind?

Before Minato could respond to the questions, the boy seemed to realize that he was speaking to a complete stranger.

"Wait a second! Who are you? What are you doing here?" the boy questioned, a defensive undertone in his voice. Minato wondered why the boy felt he had to be defensive when asking for a name; maybe some past trust issues?

But Minato was bemused; did the boy not recognize the Hokage?

"Well, my name is Minato," he replied, taking a seat in the chair near the boy's bed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what yours is."

The boy was visibly confused, almost as if he had never met anyone who didn't know who he was. Minato had no idea that was exactly the case, albeit not in a good way.

But the boy seemed to shake away his bewilderment. "I'm Naruto!" he announced enthusiastically.

Minato smiled at the young boy.

"It's nice to meet you, Naruto."

Minato noticed Naruto's expression transform into one of surprise. He honestly had no idea what was so surprising about telling someone it was nice to meet them.

He had a few questions for Naruto, though. "So, Naruto," he said, "if you don't mind me asking, who are your parents? We'd like to tell them that you're okay, I mean, they must be worried sick about you!"

Naruto surprised look morphed into an emotionless one, but Minato could see the gloom hidden beneath it. He looked down and began fidgeting with the sheets again.

"I don't have any parents," he mumbled quietly.

And Minato felt a strong sense of sympathy; he understood _exactly _how the boy was feeling. He had been an orphan himself, after all. The pain of seeing parents play with their children when he was younger... he hastily shook himself of those dark thoughts.

"I know how it feels... I'm sorry," he apologized.

But Naruto had already replaced his emotionless look with an animated one. "Don't be!" he proclaimed. "It's not your fault, you don't have to say sorry."

Minato was taken aback by Naruto's answer; it wasn't something you normally heard from a child his age.

By this point, Naruto had fully noticed the deviation from his standard hospital routine. Usually Jiji would've shown up by now, as he always did whenever Naruto was in the hospital.

"Umm... do you know where Jiji is?" Naruto inquired. "He always comes to visit whenever I'm in the hospital."

Minato guessed that was who Naruto was referring to earlier. Of course, he knew a lot of 'Jiji's', so he really didn't know who Naruto was talking about.

"Jiji? Is he your guardian?" Minato asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I live by myself. And I bet you know Jiji; he's the old man Sandaime!"

Minato would've felt relieved by the information that the retired Hokage was looking after the boy, that_ anyone_ was looking after him, if he hadn't had a more pressing question on his mind.

"You live by yourself? How old are you?" Minato himself had bought his own apartment when he graduated the academy, but he had been ten years old, not as young as the boy in front of him.

Naruto puffed out his chest. "I'm six years old!" he declared proudly. "And I've been living by myself since I was four!"

Minato had previously believed the boy to be four or five; he certainly looked small for his age. And living alone since the age of four? Minato had no idea what circumstances had led to that, but he decided to save his questions for later.

Naruto continued speaking. "Hey, can you tell Jiji I'm here?" he asked. "He probably doesn't know I'm here yet; he was in a meeting or something when I was in here last week, so he didn't come for a while."

Once again, another pressing question crossed Minato's mind.

"You were here last week? Are you in the hospital often?"

Another emotionless look graced Naruto's face. "All the time," he murmured almost inaudibly.

Minato had his concerns, several in fact, but he decided it was probably best to leave them for later. He didn't think Naruto wanted to confront them right now.

"Well, then," Minato stood up from where he had been sitting, stretching his arms and legs, "I'll go let the Sandaime know you're here. He'll be glad to know that you're alright."

Naruto smiled gratefully. "Thanks!"

Minato grinned back to him. "Anytime. It was nice to meet you, Naruto," he said, and with a wave he left the room.

As Minato was walking down the hall, he determined that signing his name on that paper had definitely been one of the better decisions of his life. That boy, Naruto, seemed to have a kind heart, and Minato felt like he could relate to him in many different ways.

Although, Minato had to admit that Naruto was an enigma. His injuries were already entirely healed, he didn't recognize the Hokage (personally, Minato didn't mind this one at all), declared that he was an orphan living alone at the age of four, and knew the Sandaime well enough to call him Jiji.

Minato was also concerned about Naruto. From what he observed, Naruto definitely has some trust issues, and Minato was worried about what circumstances led a child to live alone at the age of four.

One thing was sure, however. This definitely wasn't the last Minato was going to see of Naruto.

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**AN: And that's a wrap! It took a while to start on this chapter, but overall I think it turned out okay. (I told myself last chapter I wasn't going to write another cheesy scene, but I couldn't help it; it just kind of popped out. -_-') There was a lot of irony in here, too; did anyone notice it? (Probably... subtlety really isn't my thing.) Oh, and just for the record, yes, I **_**did**_** copy a line from chapter 1; no biggie, but if you noticed it, it was done on purpose. Once again, if you see any errors, please point them out! Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4: Peculiar

**AN: Finally done! I still can't believe I've already written four chapters. And I am absolutely flabbergasted at the feedback this story has been getting. Seriously? I'm amazed (and delighted!) that a 12k word story that's been up for only 3 weeks has gotten this much response. Gosh, I'm so spoiled... Thank you all so much!**

**Oh, and one more note: I didn't make this very clear in chapter 2, but Kushina can still get pregnant. (I should probably rewrite that part...) She won't have any more babies in this story, though. Just wanted to make this clear! If there is anything else I didn't make clear, just let me know! Anyways, on with the story!**

**Chapter 4: Peculiar**

**Word Count: 3,878**

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When Naruto woke up to see a nurse smiling down at him, he came to the conclusion that he was having a very peculiar day.

His peculiar day actually began at night, when he was hurled off the Hokage Mountain by a vicious wind storm._ Hurled off _the Hokage Mountain! How the wind could muster up enough strength to throw a little kid like himself off a mountain, he did not know.

Naruto couldn't really remember what had happened after that, and if he hadn't woken up in a hospital room he would have thought it had all been a dream. He guessed that he must've gotten injured when he hit the ground, but he didn't feel any pain. His wounds had probably already healed over.

The first thing he noticed when he woke up was the room around him. He was surprised to find that he had been placed in a much nicer room than usual. The sheets didn't even have any holes in them! The medic people must've been feeling very generous today.

And then Naruto looked up, and while he was surprised to see a nurse already in the room, he was downright shocked when the nurse smiled at him. Not an insincere one masking the malice beneath, but a genuine smile. While others took smiles for granted, Naruto received very few of them, and treasured each and every one.

"How are you feeling?" she had asked, to which he replied with a hearty "Great!", because it was the first time a nurse had shown any kindness towards him, and he didn't want to appear rude by not answering.

But then she'd left in a hurry, and Naruto accepted with resignation that she probably hadn't recognized him before, darting off once she did. It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened, anyways.

He sighed; he really needed to stop getting his hopes up. It would only lead to more future pain, more heartache, when he received coldhearted glares again.

Wait a minute. What was he thinking? He shook his head with renewed vigor. He'd never become Hokage with all of his inner self-pitying monologues. It was too early to give up hope; he just had to keep on trying.

His hands found themselves fisted around his sheets, as he was terribly bored, and he needed something to keep his mind off of those treacherous thoughts.

And then the man showed up.

At first, when Naruto heard the door click open, he assumed that it was Jiji coming to visit him, as he always did whenever he was in the hospital. He was fully prepared to question the old man; after all, he might've known the reason for the ferocious wind.

He opened his mouth to begin his interrogation, before he saw who was actually standing by the door.

Needless to say, it wasn't Jiji.

The first thing Naruto noticed was that the man in the room looked oddly familiar, but he couldn't figure out why. He eventually decided he must've seen him around the village before, but he didn't know why he remembered him. It wasn't like the guy had his face carved in a mountain for everyone to see!

He distantly felt as though he was forgetting something important, and then he remembered; he still had absolutely no idea why the wind storm had transpired.

So he forced his questions onto the stranger who had wandered in his room. He guessed the man probably didn't have any idea what had happened either, but hey, it was worth a shot.

The man didn't say anything, and with a jolt Naruto had realized that he really didn't know who he was. He could be an enemy out to hurt him, or maybe an assassin. Or maybe a movie star! A famous chef! A world renowned samurai! An alien from the moon!

But he shook his head of such thoughts, turning serious again. He defensively asked who the man was. If he really was someone out to hurt him... well, Naruto hoped that he was able to defend himself.

The man looked slightly taken aback, but apparently shook it off. He then took a seat next to him, answering his questions in a laidback manner.

And honestly, Naruto had never met anyone quite like him.

The man, who had introduced himself as Minato, did not despise him like the rest of the villagers did, even after Naruto had given his name. There wasn't an ounce of dislike in his entire being. He'd even said it was nice to meet him! And, though Naruto couldn't believe it, Minato actually was friendly towards him. This was something Naruto was unused to.

Minato, however, _did _act a little oddly when he mentioned he was an orphan, and that he was living on his own, but Naruto didn't have the faintest idea as to why.

By the time Minato left, Naruto's spirits had been lifted, and his mood became cheerful in contrast to the despondency he had felt earlier.

He absentmindedly noted that Minato had been the fourth person to ever be kind to him, after Jiji, Teuchi-san, and Ayame-chan, although he didn't know if that was a good thing or not. From what Naruto gathered, most people would sob desolately if only four people had ever shown them kindness. But Naruto was not one of those people; he would survive.

Naruto stared at the door in which Minato had left through earlier. He really was a strange man, Naruto thought.

And then his expression upturned into an enthusiastic grin. Naruto wasn't quite sure yet, but he may have just made a friend!

A friend...

'_I can't wait to tell Jiji!'_

* * *

Minato sighed in relief, the hospital's front doors in his direct line of vision. After spending an entire day in the hospital, he was fully ready to get some fresh air and see the sky, and looked forward to the walk he was about to take.

He was currently on his way the Sandaime's home, a small, quaint house, the kind no one would expect the former leader of the village to live in. He had never been the type who enjoyed luxuries such as lavish houses, anyways.

Even though he hadn't seen the aged man in a while, his visit was not for simple socializing. He was going to inform the Sandaime about the young boy, Naruto, currently hospitalized after grave injuries. An orphan like himself, Minato was glad someone was looking after him, and what better person to do it than the Sandaime himself?

'_Naruto...' _Minato hadn't realized it before, but Naruto was a rather peculiar name. He wondered who had given him his name; probably a strange person.

Minato was only a few paces away from the door, the only thing separating himself from the cool, evening air outside. He could practically taste the freedom only the outdoors could bring.

And right as he was about to reach for the handles, the doors were flung open viciously. Behind them stood Rin and Kakashi, both panting heavily, as they had most likely ran the entire way to the hospital.

Rin staggered a little when she saw her sensei was _right in front of the door_, but quickly shook away her shock.

"Sensei!" she exclaimed, trying to catch her breath after the long run. "How is Kushina-san? Is she okay?" Her voice was anxious.

Kakashi sighed in exasperation. "Jiraiya-sama already said she was fine, Rin," he stated bluntly. But his voice seemed to soften a little, and he continued on to say "So don't worry, she's okay."

"Oh, right," she recalled quickly. Turning back to Minato, she asked, "You've already seen her, right? Do you know what room she's in?"

He nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, I've visited her," he said. "She's in room 227, and I'm sure she'll be happy to have visitors."

Rin smiled joyfully. "Thanks. Hey, sensei, where are you going? I'd have thought you'd be by Kushina's bed until she was released!" Minato had always been known for his extreme overprotective nature when it came to Kushina, but his angry wife was quickly breaking him out of that habit.

"I'm going to go visit Jiji," Minato stated, hoping Naruto wouldn't mind him being a little late.

When met with two amused looks, he realized what he'd said. "Err, I mean Sarutobi-sama," he clarified. Even though Minato was the Hokage, he still addressed the Sandaime with '-sama', as he felt that the wizened man had earned the title.

But 'Jiji'? He'd only spent around thirty minutes with Naruto, and the kid was already rubbing off on him!

"Naruto asked to see him, so I'm going to his home to get him," he continued, attempting to sound official as to regain his dignity.

"Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

Minato decided he really needed to introduce Naruto to some people. From what he'd gathered so far, very few people knew who the boy was, not including the hospital staff.

"He's a very energetic six year old boy, and an orphan," Minato said. "Luckily Sarutobi-sama is looking after him, so he's not entirely alone."

Rin's face expressed sadness, and Kakashi's eyes swirled with an untold emotion, as he himself had also been made an orphan at an early age.

Her face brightened again quickly, though. "Well, that's good then," she said. "I'm glad he's being looked after. Hey, which room is he in? We could visit him too!"

Kakashi nodded in agreement, a surprising occurrence, as Kakashi usually did not want anything to do with strangers.

"He's in room 246. I'm sure he'd enjoy having some company," Minato informed them.

"Alright, we'll visit him after Kushina, then," Rin said with a nod, turning around to face the person behind her. "C'mon, Kakashi! We've got to hurry up before visiting hours are over!" And with that, she ran past Minato to the stairs, climbing them two at a time

Kakashi followed dutifully, albeit at a slower pace, and waved at Minato before heading up the stairs as well.

Minato watched them walk away, a hint of wistfulness in his eyes as he thought of the third person who should've been there. In his mind he could almost vision a spiky haired teen running up the steps, trying to catch up to Rin while shoving Kakashi out of the way.

He shook his head of such thoughts; there wasn't any point in dwelling in the past. He turned around to face the doors, ready to get back to the task on hand.

He reached for the doors with a hint of childish glee, giddy at the thought of finally getting some fresh air. He swung the doors open, taking in the cool evening breeze with delight. After standing there motionless for around half a minute, he set off for the aged man's home.

As he was walking down the streets, several people greeted him, while many others waved at him cheerfully. They always made time out of their day when the young Hokage walked around the village.

He smiled back, because he enjoyed seeing the peaceful village he had sworn to protect. However, sometimes he wished he could just walk down a street without being recognized as the Hokage.

'_Sarutobi-sama never mentioned this when I took the job...' _That wasn't any excuse, though, as he should have assumed he'd get a lot of attention as the Hokage. And now that he thought about it, Sarutobi didn't mention a lot of things when he took the job, like the unending piles of paperwork that no doubt came from hell itself.

Minato continued on his hike, receiving several more admiring glances and inwardly sighing in relief when he saw the small dirt path that lead to the old man's house. There weren't any faces admiring him on the small earthy road, he was sure.

After a few more minutes of walking, in which he ran into several animals living in the woods, he'd finally arrived at the Sandaime's house.

He had always liked Sarutobi's house, a cottage even, as it exuded a very homely feeling. There were a few flowers planted in front of the house, shaded by several tall trees nearby. A small pond was also located behind the house.

Minato walked up to the door and knocked. He really hoped the Sandaime was in his home: he didn't want to go on a hunt throughout Konoha in order to find him.

His worries were allayed, however, as the door opened from inside, to reveal the Sandaime standing behind it.

"Minato?" Sarutobi asked, surprised to see the young war hero at his doorstep.

Minato smiled respectfully. "Hello, Sarutobi-sama."

Sarutobi made a disapproving noise. "You're the Hokage now," he tried to explain, as he had several times in the past. "You don't need to address me with '-sama'. Actually, you don't really need to address _anyone _with '-sama'."

Minato blinked.

The Sandaime sighed, wondering why he still even bothered, before moving aside as an invitation inside.

Minato entered the house, admiring its interior as he did so. The supposed 'Professor of Konoha' definitely lived up to his name, as several bookcases lined the walls, each one stuffed with as many books as they could fit.

He heard the door click shut behind him, and turned to face the wizened man standing behind him.

"So," Sarutobi said, "to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? I'll assume it's not for simple socializing."

He nodded. "Well, actually, Naruto is in the hospital, and was wondering when you were going to visit him."

Sarutobi remained silent, although a hint of bewilderment lay hidden in his eyes.

Minato continued speaking, oblivious to the old man's bemusement. "He's a bright kid, a big ball of energy really. He kind of reminds me of myself, too, when I was younger."

He almost got lost in his thoughts again, before he noticed that Sarutobi still hadn't spoken up.

"Sarutobi-sama?"

"Minato," Sarutobi began seriously, "I've never met anyone with the name Naruto."

Minato froze.

The Sandaime never met anyone named Naruto? Yet the boy had claimed the old man visited him in the hospital, and was close enough to call Jiji? Did Sarutobi just not recognize his name? Or was Naruto lying?

Well, just in case...

"Are you sure?"

Sarutobi nodded. "I'm sure that if he is as you describe him, I would not have forgotten a child like that, especially with that name."

"Then, how is this possible?" Minato asked, but mostly to himself. "He called you 'Jiji', even."

"The child may be suffering from hallucinations." Sarutobi suggested bluntly.

Minato shook his head in disagreement. "He isn't delusional," he affirmed.

"Are you sure?" Sarutobi asked doubtfully.

But Minato _was_ sure. "Positive," he said, even if he didn't know why. He'd only met the kid for a little while, and had no way of proving his sanity. "I've just got this feeling about him... It's almost as if I _know _he's not lying."

Sarutobi frowned, but eventually decided to accept Minato's intuition for now. "Peculiar..." he said. "But if he isn't suffering from hallucinations, then what could explain this?"

Minato frowned thoughtfully. "I... am not sure," he confessed truthfully. "He couldn't have been talking about anyone else; he specifically said 'the old man Sandaime."

Sarutobi furrowed his eyebrows at the boy's implication that he was old. He was only 55! Why did everyone insist that he was old?

Childish thoughts aside, Sarutobi came to a decision as to what he should do.

"I think I'd like to meet this boy."

Personally, Minato was glad that the Sandaime made this decision. If he hadn't, they probably would've never comprehended this misunderstanding, and Naruto would be devastated if the Sandaime never showed up. He desperately hoped that they would be able to find an answer.

But what would Naruto say when they arrived? If he truly believed that the Sandaime was his Jiji, and if Sarutobi didn't know who he was...

"Can you act as if you know him?" Minato asked. "At least, only until we figure this out."

Sarutobi frowned again. "He would eventually know I was lying," he warned.

Minato wasn't swayed, although he would definitely feel guilty about lying to the boy. "But by then we'll have answers," he protested. "We can tell him something other than 'your Jiji forgot about you.' He would be heartbroken."

A moment of silence passed, before eventually Sarutobi conceded. "All right," he agreed. "Let us be on our way, then. We shouldn't waste any time; from what I remember, visiting hours are over in approximately one hour."

Minato glanced at a clock on the wall, finding Sarutobi's statement to be truthful. He hoped that he would have enough time to talk to Kushina again before visiting hours ended.

And with that, the two walked back down the small dirt path, heading swiftly for their destination: the hospital.

* * *

"I'm glad that Kushina is feeling better," Rin commented, walking down the hallway with Kakashi, who nodded in agreement.

The two of them had just finished chatting with Kushina, who had been delighted to see them. All three of them knew that Kushina was not the kind of person who could stand to lie down all day, especially in a hospital, and the two of them were sympathetic.

So, after visiting for a while, they had said their goodbyes, and proceeded down the hall to room 246.

"Hmm... do you think he'll mind us visiting? I mean, technically we're strangers..." she trailed off.

Kakashi shrugged. "From how sensei described him, I would guess he'd probably enjoy the company."

"I hope so..." she said thoughtfully, and the two continued walking in silence.

After another minute or so, they reached room 246, and stopped for a second outside the door.

"Well, let's say hi, then!" Rin said, and opened the door.

The two of them peeked inside, and saw a little boy with a shock of blonde hair. He was... well, from what Rin could see, he was trying to make origami with a sheet corner, yet finding no success.

'_...So adorable!' _Rin thought dotingly.

"Hi there!" she called cheerfully.

Naruto looked up from his inattentive folding, surprised to have more visitors. Not that he was complaining, of course. "Who're you guys?" he asked cautiously.

Inwardly, Kakashi approved of the boy's guarded nature, although he _did _have to admit it was slightly out of place in an atmosphere such as the hospital's.

"I'm Rin, and this is Kakashi," Rin introduced with a smile. "We're Minato's students, do you remember him? He came in here a little while ago."

Kakashi gave a small wave.

Naruto's face instantly brightened, sky blue eyes shining happily. "I'm Naruto!" he informed them proudly. If they were Minato's students, then they were most likely good people.

"That's a unique name," Rin replied. "Nice to meet you! Anyways, how are you feeling?"

Naruto looked a little stunned, but responded normally. "I feel great!" he shouted. "I always heal really fast, so I don't see why I'm still stuck here."

Rin thought his comment about healing fast was a little strange, but decided not to comment.

"Hey!" Naruto burst out unexpectedly, noticing the headbands on their foreheads. "You guys are ninja?"

"Yes, we are," Kakashi spoke up for the first time.

Naruto's eyes shined with awe. "That's so cool!" he exclaimed. "I'm only in my first year at the academy..."

"That's alright!" Rin reassured him. "Everyone needs to start somewhere, right?"

"Yeah..." Naruto mumbled. "But I don't like the academy."

"Why not?" Rin asked, and one of Kakashi's eyebrows rose.

"The teachers don't like me. They always send me to the hallway, but I don't know why," Naruto confessed. Normally he didn't like to talk about his problems, but he seemed to be awfully chatty today.

Rin was about to make a comment, but before she could the three of them heard someone knock on the door.

The door opened slowly, and in walked Minato, a cheerful look on his face.

"Hello again, Naruto," Minato greeted with a grin. "Guess who's here?" he asked, then moved aside to make room for Sarutobi to walk in.

"Jiji!" Naruto exclaimed happily, eyes shining brightly. "You took a while to get here! Were you in another one of those Hokage meetings again, or something?"

Sarutobi blinked, as did the other three occupants of the room. Naruto didn't know that the Sandaime had retired? That was... peculiar.

"I haven't attended any Hokage meetings since I retired a year ago," he explained slowly, curious as to why the blonde boy did not know this.

Naruto's eyes widened substantially. "Retired?" Naruto asked with disbelief.

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes, I retired when I passed the position on to Minato," he made a gesture towards Minato with his hand, "the Yondaime Hokage."

Naruto's eyes, if possible, opened even wider.

Minato sighed; so much for the boy not recognizing him now. He braced himself for the shock, admiration, and awe that the boy would no doubt exude.

But Naruto didn't look shocked, his face didn't express admiration, and didn't seem awestruck. No, what he did was something that completely took Minato aback.

He laughed.

"The Yondaime? Quit joking Jiji, he died six years ago! Remember? After he killed the Kyuubi!"

Silence.

The stunned silence lasted for nearly five minutes, as they did not know what to say. They didn't know how anyone could reply to something like that.

The Yondaime? Dead? After _killing_ the Kyuubi? Was Naruto crazy? They didn't even _have_ a Yondaime six years ago!

Sarutobi was the first one to regain his voice. "...Dead?" he asked with skeptical shock.

Now Naruto was the one who looked stunned.

"You don't remember?" he asked with incredulity. "You took back the job after he died! Remember?"

And then they were all stunned into silence again.

However, where the others minds tried to grasp what the boy was saying, Minato turned over ideas in his head at a rapid pace.

Had Minato been wrong? Was the boy really delusional? Minato's gut instinct had never been wrong before; he had been _so sure_ that Naruto's sanity was intact. There was no other possible explanation, _none! _

Unless...

A stray idea implanted itself in his head, and he almost brushed it aside due to its foolishness. It was a peculiar idea, something you'd most likely find in a fiction novel. There had never been any proof of its plausibility. No sane man would ever even deem it a possibility.

But, for some strange reason, he decided to consider the idea. Now that he thought about it a little more, it would explain a lot. Why no one knew who he was, why the Sandaime had forgotten him, all of it!

If his theory was true, _everything_ would make sense.

Minato needed to test his speculation, but how to do so...

Hmm... Oh.

Bingo.

"Naruto," he asked gently, "How old is the Sandaime?"

This garnered him several odd looks, as they all wondered why a question like that was important, or even remotely relevant to the current topic at hand.

But then, Naruto replied with a resolute "61!"

The Sandaime was only 55.

And with this, Minato knew his theory was correct.

* * *

**AN: Well... half the secret's out. The other half will take a while longer for them to figure out. This was definitely the most difficult chapter so far, but I'm hoping they'll get more fun to write: we're not even to the good parts yet! I personally cannot wait for all the mushy family scenes to come. Oh, and I know I call the Sandaime old even though he's only 55, but I'm guessing that's considered ancient in ninja terms, as I doubt they have high life expectancies with the risks being a ninja has. Once again, feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5: Illogical

**AN: Well, let me just start off by saying how flabbergasted I am at the amount of feedback this story has received. 110 reviews already? This fic has only been up for a month! Thank you all so much, and everyone else who favorited/alerted this story. Without you all, I'd probably lose faith in my writing ability. You guys are awesome! Anyways, here's chapter 5! I love this chapter; Naruto finally meets his mommy! (Well, technically he doesn't **_**know **_**she's his mother yet, but that's irrelevant. ;)**

**Chapter 5: Illogical**

**Word Count: 4,567**

* * *

"_Naruto," Minato asked gently, "How old is the Sandaime?"_

_This garnered him several odd looks, as they all wondered why a question like that was important, or even remotely relevant to the current topic at hand._

_But then, Naruto replied with a resolute "61!"_

_The Sandaime was only 55._

_And with this, Minato knew his theory was correct._

Once again, a shocked silence befell the room after Naruto's resolute declaration, with the majority of its occupants bewildered once more by his strange words. If this was the boy's attempt at a joke, it was a poor one. They were convinced he was either teasing them, or was simply suffering from insanity.

Minato, however, did not believe that Naruto was joking, or hallucinating. If his theory was right, then it would be proof of Naruto's sanity.

Except… if his theory _was _true, then what was he supposed to think about what Naruto said earlier?

"_The Yondaime? Quit joking Jiji, he died six years ago! Remember? After he killed the Kyuubi!"_

Did… did he really die? If he did his math correctly, then that would mean he would die in less than six months. He knew that he was reaching the average ninja life expectancy, but that was still _so early_. He was too young to die!

And after he killed the Kyuubi? With a horrified shock, Minato realized that enemies of Konoha must've taken control of it after it vanished from Kushina's seal. That meant that the village, _his _village, would be attacked, and soon.

But, then how had he killed the beast? He knew that there was no way to actually _kill _a demon; the next best thing was sealing it away. And he died doing so? What kind of sealing required taking your own life as payment?

Minato shook his head; now was not the right time to worry about these things. He needed to explain his idea of what happened to Naruto to everyone else, in order to prove the boy was still sane. Besides, maybe Naruto could elucidate on what had happened, so that he wasn't misled into believing something that wasn't true.

But before Minato could speak up, to notify them of the paradox that he believed took place, the Sandaime began talking.

"Naruto," Sarutobi began gently, almost as if reprimanding a child, "I am only 55 years old."

Minato saw Naruto's eyes open wide in disbelief. "No you're not!" he fervently denied. "You're 61! I saw! There was a birthday cake and it had a six and a one on it and that's 61!"

Sarutobi looked about ready to open his mouth in contradiction, but Minato raised his hand, silencing the wizened man. If Minato had something to say, then the Sandaime guessed that it must be something of some importance.

Minato sighed inaudibly, before he began his interrogation. "Naruto," he started off, "how did you end up in the hospital, again?"

"I got blown off the Hokage Mountain!" Naruto exclaimed, waving his hands around wildly. "There was a little wind, and then this guy showed up, but I couldn't see who he was because it was dark, and then he said something, I don't remember what, but then the wind got way stronger, and it blew me right off the mountain!" He inhaled deeply after his lengthy run-on sentence.

Minato nodded, while the faces of Sarutobi, Kakashi, and Rin paled with surprise. They hadn't heard how he had gotten into the hospital until now. Blown off the Hokage Mountain? It had been a fairly mild night before; the wind hadn't been strong enough to knock someone off of a mountain.

Though, Minato hadn't heard about the person appearing before Naruto's winding fall. Had it been an enemy ninja? Or someone else?

"I see." He looked right into Naruto's eyes. "Naruto, I believe something very strange occurred when you fell."

"Well, duh!" Naruto said with astonishment, as if speaking to someone with a lesser intelligence. "That wind got me stuck in the hospital!"

Minato shook his head in disagreement. "No. Something even stranger." He took a deep breath, before delving into his explanation.

"When you were admitted into the hospital, they did not have any records of you in the database. They took a blood test, but found no identical matches. Even when we learned your name, not a single person recognized you.

"And when I went to get Sarutobi-sama, he did not know who you were."

Naruto sat there in stunned silence, before mustering up the courage to confirm Minato's statement. "Jiji? You… you forgot about me?" Naruto didn't want to believe him. If the first person to care for his wellbeing had _forgotten _him, then… then…

Before Sarutobi could answer affirmatively, therefore crushing the little boy's spirit, Minato cut him off once again.

"Don't worry!" he reassured Naruto. "He didn't forget about you." It was true that the Sandaime had never met the boy, but technically he had never forgotten about him; he'd just never known him in the first place.

"Like I said before, no one has been able to recognize you, and you aren't in the records, or any official documents. Technically, you don't exist."

Before Naruto could open his mouth in protest, as he thought it was obvious that he _did _exist, Minato added one last word.

"Yet."

The other occupants of the room were completely puzzled, as they had no idea what Minato meant by that. _Of course_ Naruto existed now, he was sitting right in front of them, after all.

"Exactly _what _are you insinuating, Minato?" Sarutobi questioned, a hint of warning hidden in his voice. He had an idea about what Minato was proposing, but it was highly illogical.

"Naruto, I believe that you've travelled back in time," Minato stated bluntly, after having taken a deep breath.

Minato half expected everyone in the room to burst out laughing, but was slightly surprised when no one did. Naruto, however, seemed to be absolutely taken with the idea.

"Time travel?" he asked with wonder. "That's so cool!"

Sarutobi didn't seem to share Naruto's view on the matter.

"Minato, please be serious," Sarutobi reasoned. "Time travel has never been proven plausible. You know that."

Minato nodded in agreement. "Yes, I do," he explained. "But how else can you justify this? Naruto isn't delusional, and he isn't tricking us! Right?" His last word was directed towards Naruto.

"Yeah, I'm not delusional!" Naruto agreed.

Sarutobi did not concede, however. "Listen to me," he tried to convince Minato. "Time travel has_ never_ been proven possible, and there isn't any known way to do so. It's a _completely _illogical idea."

"That may be so," Minato replied, "but not everything can be proven; not everything has a logical explanation. Sometimes you've just got to rely on your instinct. And my instinct is telling me to give this idea a chance."

The two of them stared at each other, both of them unrelenting in their gazes, before finally Sarutobi lowered his gaze.

"Very well, then," Sarutobi conceded. "But if what you're implying is true, then _no one else _can know of this. It _must _be kept a secret."

Minato understood perfectly. If the public knew Naruto was from the future, no one would believe him, and those that did would try to interrogate the young boy. He turned to Naruto, who had been watching the two of them respectfully argue for the past several minutes with an awestruck look on his face. He knelt down, so that he was at Naruto's eye level.

"The fact that you're from the future _has _to be kept a secret, as Sarutobi-sama said," he spoke, the significance of the situation obvious in his tone.

Naruto seemed to understand, though, as he nodded solemnly. "I swear I won't tell anyone," he promised.

"Do you two understand as well?" Minato asked Kakashi and Rin, turning to face them. He would've preferred that they didn't know, as he didn't want them to be caught up in any more trouble, but there wasn't any choice.

The two made understanding gestures also; they were ninja, and they understood when something was to be kept a secret. "We understand," they said in unison.

"Wait a second!" Naruto suddenly shouted, everyone jumping a little at the boy's loud voice. "So then… that means…" he pointed towards Minato. "You're… You're really the Yondaime?"

Minato laughed, before smiling at him. "Yes, I'm really the Yondaime," he admitted, humor evident in his voice.

Naruto leaned back against the pillows behind him, mumbling an awestruck, "Wow…" Here he was, back in time, in the same room as his idol! It was almost too much for him to handle. Almost.

Minato quickly regained his serious attitude, however, and turned to face Sarutobi. "I think Jiraiya and Tsunade should also be informed about this," Minato suggested. "They might have an idea as to what caused this."

"I don't see a problem with that," Sarutobi agreed. "I trust them to keep a secret, and they might know a way to reverse this."

Minato smiled, and met Naruto's eyes again. "You can stay at my house until then," he told Naruto warmly. "That is, if you don't mind."

Naruto glanced down at his hands, where he once again was fidgeting with the sheets on his bed. "Umm… is it really okay?" he asked shyly, a stark difference from his previously exuberant attitude. He didn't want to be nuisance, and he could take care of himself in the meantime.

"Of course it is!" Minato confirmed resolutely. "I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't."

Naruto seemed a little wary at first, as if doubting the truth of his statement, but eventually broke out into a bright, if not slightly grateful, smile.

Sarutobi sighed, and rubbed at his forehead. This entire ordeal truly was rather troublesome; too much for his old bones to handle at the moment. "If you have this under control," he said with a note of finality, "then I'll be going. I will personally investigate this matter as well, and will inform you if I find anything."

The Sandaime reached out for the doorknob, but said a few last words before he left. "I look forward to seeing you again, Naruto," he added. If his older self had been close enough to the boy to have been called 'Jiji', then he shouldn't act like a cold stranger. With his final words said, he left the room.

"I'm leaving too," Kakashi said monotonously, and with a single hand sign disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Minato and Rin sighed in synchronization; Kakashi had never really been one for words. It was exactly like him to say a little, if not nothing, and then vanish.

"Hey! Can I leave too?" Naruto asked excitedly, eyes shining at the prospect of leaving the plain hospital room. He had been sitting still for over a day, and feared for his sanity if he were to do so any longer. "I feel fine!"

"You came here with severe injuries, and it's only been a day," Minato said skeptically. "Are you sure you feel fine?"

"Yeah!" he exclaimed truthfully, standing up and stretching his legs. He was actually healed more than he had originally thought. If he'd known that, he would've tried to escape already!

"I'll check, just to make sure," Rin spoke up, moving forward, green chakra emanating from her hands. "If you really are healed enough, then technically I have the authority to release you from the hospital." It was one of the perks of being a medic nin, after all.

Rin held her hands above Naruto's chest for around a minute or so, before the chakra on her hands dissipated. She held a shocked look on her face.

"He's right… he really is just fine," she said with surprise. With the injuries Minato had described the boy as having, he should've been confined to the hospital for a few weeks. But Naruto had no visible injuries at all; he was a medical mystery.

"Woohoo!" Naruto cheered. "See, I told you I was fine!"

Rin hid her shock with a smile, before opening Naruto's hospital file sitting on the bedside table. She signed it, and added a small note saying that the patient showed exemplary healing abilities.

As Rin was signing the papers, Minato glanced at the clock on the wall, noting that the time was 6:45. "Did the hospital staff give you something for dinner?" he asked Naruto, who replied with a shake of his head. "Let's go get something to eat. I bet you're pretty hungry, huh?"

Naruto grinned happily. "Really? Awesome!" And though he didn't show it, he felt an immense sense of relief. Aside from the loaf of bread from yesterday morning, and the meager hospital meal at around lunchtime, he hadn't eaten much of anything.

Minato grinned back, before looking at Rin. "Thanks for signing the papers," he said with gratitude, since he was pretty sure Naruto would forget to.

"No problem," Rin replied, "I'll be leaving as well. See you later, sensei. Bye, Naruto!" The last part was said with a bright smile, before she walked out of the room.

Minato turned back to Naruto, who at this point was bouncing on his heels. Minato would've done the same thing at that age; he'd never liked sitting still for long.

"Ready to go?" he asked the young boy, who nodded in reply. The two of them then proceeded to exit the dreary hospital room, both looking forward to leaving the hospital altogether.

"So, are you sure I can stay at your house? 'Cause I can find somewhere else to stay." Naruto quietly asked again.

"I already said you could, right? It's really not a problem, don't worry," Minato reassured him. "And besides, my house is actually pretty cool, ever since Ku-" he abruptly stopped speaking as he remembered that he wasn't the only resident of his house.

He checked another clock on the wall, and discovered that there were only ten minutes left until visiting hours were over. _'That's enough time, I think.'_

"Actually… before we leave, there's someone I want you to meet," he said, before walking back down the hall, Naruto quickly following.

"Who?" Naruto asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

"My wife," he said. "Since you're going to be living in our house for a while, you should _probably _meet her," he half-joked.

Naruto's eyes once again widened, "You have a wife?" he asked, though Naruto guessed he probably shouldn't be so shocked. "What's her name? Is she a ninja? Is she pretty?"

Minato chuckled at the young boy's curiosity, before answering. "Yes, I have a wife. Her name's Kushina, she _is _a ninja, and she's the most beautiful person in the world."

"Wow…" Naruto trailed off. "She must be _really _pretty, then! Hey, why's she in the hospital?"

Minato's laughing ceased, and he went quiet, silently wondering what he should tell him. Somehow he didn't think now was a good time to tell a six year old boy 'my wife is in the hospital because her unborn baby died and a demon inside of her vanished.'

Naruto seemed to realize that he'd treaded onto unsafe grounds with that last question, and quickly tried to think of something else to ask.

"Which room is she in?" Naruto inquired, hoping that it would work.

Minato saw Naruto's question for what it was; a distraction. Nonetheless, he was grateful for it. He mentally scolded himself; eventually he would tell Naruto the truth, just not now.

"Her room's right here, actually," he said, stopping in front of one of the doors.

"All right, then!" Naruto exclaimed, and unceremoniously yanked the door open.

Naruto peeked inside, and saw a red-haired woman sitting up in her bed, reading a book. She looked up when she heard the door click open, and melted when she saw the adorable little boy who opened it.

"Hi there!" she greeted him happily.

Naruto got a good look at the lady, and he knew that Minato hadn't been kidding when he said she was the prettiest person ever. Of course, being the good little boy that he was, he decided to tell her this.

"You're pretty!"

The red-haired lady blinked, before she began to laugh. "Why, thank you!" she said. "What's your name?"

Naruto puffed out his chest proudly. "I'm Naruto!" he introduced himself.

"It's very nice to meet you, Naruto! I'm Kushina!" she said, smiling brightly.

Minato smiled from where he was standing behind the door. Kushina had always been great with children, which only sent another small pang through his heart when he remembered the reason she was in the hospital. Hopefully having Naruto stay with them would be helpful. He decided to make his entrance, and walked in the room after Naruto.

Kushina noticed him walk into the room, and shot him a big grin. "Look, Minato! It's a mini-you!" she exclaimed, pointing at Naruto, who looked slightly befuddled.

Minato chuckled, and threw one hand up to rub the back of his head. Actually, now that Kushina brought it up, Naruto _did_ kind of look like him. It was mostly the hair, Minato guessed, before shoving the thought to the back of his mind. It wasn't important now.

"How are you?" he asked her.

Kushina sighed wearily. "Bored out of my mind," she grumbled. "I can't_ wait_ to get out of here; look, I'm actually _reading_," she waved around the book in her hands. She had never been a very avid reader, so for her to be reading must've meant that she was _really _bored.

"Kushina," Minato began, "this is Naruto, the young boy I was telling you about."

Kushina nodded, while inwardly she was shocked. This bright little boy was the one who was admitted in the hospital for suicide? And he was released already? Obviously she didn't have the complete story.

Minato seemed to sense the questions burning on Kushina's tongue, and said, "I'll tell you everything soon; visiting hours end in five minutes, so I'll come back tomorrow. Actually, Naruto was released earlier, but he doesn't have anywhere to stay." Minato planned to tell Kushina about the boy's time travel journey the next day, as he didn't think he could squeeze all that information into a five minute time period.

He continued speaking. "Since he doesn't have anywhere else to stay, I offered to let him stay at our house." He was fairly sure that it was fine with Kushina, but just to check…

He needn't have any worries, of course, as Kushina beamed at Naruto. "Great!" she said cheerfully. "Minato, make sure to give him a good room, I know that some of those guest rooms haven't been cleaned in _ages…_" she trailed off. "And make sure he eats, too! I don't want you to poison him or anything with your horrifying cooking skills!"

Minato knew he probably should've been offended at Kushina's description of his cooking skills, but he knew that she was justified in saying so; he really was a terrible cook. Instead, he nodded. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I won't poison him."

"Good!" she said with a note of finality, before looking at Naruto. "Have you eaten dinner yet?" she asked kindly.

Naruto shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "We were going to get something after we left." Just then, his stomach gave a long, loud growl.

Kushina let out a hearty laugh. "I know how it feels!" she proclaimed, in regards to the boy's hunger. "Well, visiting hours are pretty much over anyways. You two should probably go get something to eat."

Minato agreed; after all, Naruto wasn't the only hungry one. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. I'll stop by in the morning with some food; I know that hospital food isn't exactly five star quality," he told Kushina.

She smiled gratefully. "Thanks. Dango?" she asked hopefully.

If Minato had to make a comparison, then Kushina to dango was like himself to ramen. It was her favorite food; she ate it everywhere. He wondered if she would ever pass that habit on to someone else.

"Dango," he agreed. Even though it wasn't the healthiest of breakfasts, Minato felt that Kushina deserved it given the current circumstances. "Well then, we'll be off."

"Bye!" Naruto shouted back, with an undertone of gloom evident in his voice. She really was a nice lady, and he didn't want to say goodbye. He comforted himself with the fact that he would see her again the next day.

"See you later!" Kushina called after the young boy. "He seems like such a happy kid," she commented to Minato.

Minato hummed in agreement. After saying good bye to her as well, he followed Naruto out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

As they were walking back down the hallway, Naruto spoke up. "I like her," he said, as if revealing a sacred secret.

"Yeah," Minato agreed. "I like her too."

* * *

After departing from the hospital, where Naruto immediately began bouncing around in the fresh air, the two of them walked to one of the shopping streets. Abundant with stores and restaurants, it was hard to find anything they _didn't _sell. Luckily, it was evening, so very few people were walking about. Minato was glad; he didn't think Naruto needed the publicity walking around with the Yondaime would cause.

"We should probably stop by a clothes store, too," Minato suggested to Naruto as they walked down the road. "You probably want something else to wear besides those hospital clothes, right?" The hospital staff would've normally given him back the clothes he had been wearing, but they had been severely damaged after Naruto's fall.

Naruto looked down at the ground, his pace slowing ever so slightly. "I don't have any money," he mumbled quietly. Inside Naruto was slightly annoyed. If some weird figure thing decided to throw him off a mountain and back in time six years, couldn't it at least have the _decency _to wait until he got his monthly allowance? Life really wasn't fair.

Minato looked a little taken aback, before replying. "That's alright!" he assured the young boy. "I wasn't going to make you pay."

Naruto felt a little surprised at the man's kindness. He'd only known him for a day, and already was willing to buy him clothes? Naruto couldn't really explain what he was feeling just then, but he knew it was some sort of happy feeling.

But then, what about the shop vendors? If they found out he was an orphan, they wouldn't sell anything to him. After all, that was why everyone hated him. Right?

"Really? Thanks!" Naruto said, all worries shoved to the back of his head for the time being. "Hey, can they be orange? Please?"

"Yes, they can be orange," Minato conceded. "You'd get along well with Kushina; that's her favorite color too."

"She's smart," Naruto decided. "It's the best color in the whole world!"

Minato laughed again, remembering his own childhood after listening to Naruto. "So," Minato said, "what do you want to eat?"

Naruto's eyes brightened, already knowing exactly what he wanted. "Ramen!" he yelled enthusiastically.

Inwardly, Minato cheered. That was exactly what he'd wanted too. "Ramen it is, then!" he said jovially. "You'd get along well with me too; that's my favorite food."

"You're smart, then," Naruto said. "It's the best food in the whole world!"

"Well then," Minato decided, "let's go eat some ramen." He pointed to a small stand on the edge of the street. "Ever been to Ichiraku's?"

"Have I ever been to Ichiraku's?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Duh! They have the best ramen ever!"

The two of them walked to the ramen stand, which had no other customers. They both took seats, with Naruto having to jump up to reach the stool.

Teuchi, the head ramen chef, looked over at his two newest customers, before almost reeling over in shock. "Minato!" he exclaimed. "I didn't know you had a kid!"

Minato blinked in confusion, before looking at Naruto, who was swirling around in his seat. Maybe they _did _look alike, but he wasn't his son; Teuchi was just confused.

"Oh, no, he isn't my son," Minato clarified. But then he realized something; they had never come up with a cover story! He quickly scrambled through his mind, before assembling a believable story.

"Teuchi, this is Naruto. He was recently orphaned, so Kushina and I are taking care of him until other arrangements can be made," Minato explained. He hoped that there weren't any glaring holes in his story, and he hoped that Naruto would go along with the story.

Fortunately, Teuchi believed the story, and looked towards Naruto sympathetically. "I'm sorry about that, son," he said kindly.

Naruto wasn't surprised by the ramen chef's kindness, as he had been just as kind in the future. Realizing that he had to go along with the cover story, he answered accordingly.

"It's okay! I bet they're happy wherever they are right now. They're probably eating ramen too!" he said devotedly. After all, they had to have ramen in the afterlife, right?

Teuchi smiled at the boy's lively attitude, before turning back to the pot behind him. "So, what will you two be having today?"

"Three bowls of miso ramen, please!" Minato and Naruto shouted in unison, before staring at each other.

"Creepy," Naruto said, and Minato had to agree.

Teuchi shrugged, and began making around ten bowls worth of ramen. He knew that there would be seconds, after all.

Several minutes passed, before three bowls of miso ramen lay before each of them. If Teuchi didn't know any better, he'd say that they both were drooling.

"Itadakimasu!" The two of them exclaimed, breaking apart the wooden chopsticks before digging into the ramen with fervor.

The ramen chef watched the two of them eat, shock evident on his face. "Are you sure you two aren't related?" he asked with bemusement.

But Minato didn't pay much attention to the man's words, as he was still eating ramen.

After a few extra bowls, to make a grand total of six bowls, he was done eating, and looked over to see how Naruto was faring. He was surprised to see that the little boy was already on his fifth bowl! Apparently there was another ramen connoisseur in the village now.

He noticed, however, that Naruto's table manners were almost appalling. He ate like a… well, like a starving animal, as if anyone could sneak up on him and steal his meal. He would talk to him about that later.

"Aah, that was good!" Naruto shouted happily, slurping the last of the broth from his fifth bowl. It wasn't often that he got to eat ramen like this, and when he did, he went _all out._

Minato thanked Teuchi for the ramen, and left the correct amount of money on the bar. The two of them left with their stomachs full, and went in search of the nearest clothing store.

"All right," Minato said, "let's go get you some new clothes."

Naruto nodded happily, albeit slightly worriedly as well. Would the shopkeepers refuse to sell him anything if they learned he was an orphan? Or would they be civilly hostile, only selling him clothes because the Hokage was there?

He tried to shake his anxiety away, and followed Minato down the street.

* * *

**AN: Yeah, a bit of an abrupt ending… but they're finally out of the hospital! This is where the story is going to really start picking up. Ooh, I can't wait! Oh, a note about the blood test: they didn't discover Naruto's relationship to his parents after the test, because they were only looking for identical matches. I'll admit to not knowing much about blood tests, but for the sake of the story it'll work like that. It would be a very short and boring story otherwise, if they found out his identity the moment he arrived. And, once again, feedback is always appreciated, whether it be encouraging or critical!**


	6. Chapter 6: A New Life

**Oh my god, I'm actually still alive. Surprise! It sure has been a while, huh? I know you're all thinking, "WHO CARES. GIVE ME MY CHAPTER." I can totally sympathize. So, I'll just give my owed apology for releasing a chapter over a year late, and my thanks to everyone who reviewed/alerted/favorited for their encouragement.**

**But hey, there is some good news! This story is no longer being written by a thirteen year-old. Fifteen and counting, people. You're welcome. (However, I don't think my writing skills have improved much, if at all.) Plus, this fifteen year-old has a much better idea of where she wants this story to go than that thirteen year-old did.**

**I'm going to do my best to work past my writer's block and finish this story, but it might take a while. Plus, next year (sophomore time! woo!), I have 5 AP's lined up, so that will suck a _huge_ chunk of my writing time up. **

**Okay, enough of that. Time for PLOT DEVELOPMENT! And a super long chapter, too! I was considering breaking this up into two parts since it got so long, but I wanted to give you guys the entire chapter instead. So here you go. :)**

**Chapter 6: A New Life**

**Word Count: 11,035 (gaiz, the word count... the word count, gaiz… it's over 9,000. :3)**

* * *

Minato and Naruto walked down the street with their appetites sated, footsteps thudding on the soft dirt path as they headed to buy some clothes for Naruto.

Though Naruto was attempting to act cheerful, inside he felt a nagging sense of worry. What if the shopkeeper recognized him? What if he refused to sell him anything? Normally, Naruto wasn't surprised by the merchants' behavior, and had learned to tolerate it, but what if they told Minato, and made the older man hate him? He didn't want that to happen! Minato was being so nice; he didn't want that to change!

"Oh, shoot!" Minato's voice shook Naruto out of his anxious thoughts. Naruto looked up, and saw that the older blond man had stopped in front of a small shop. A wooden '_closed_' sign hung limply on the front door.

"I didn't know they closed early today," Minato said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Guess we'll have to go tomorrow, then. Sorry about that!"

Naruto quickly plastered a look of disappointment on his face to mask his relief. He knew that waiting until the next day was only prolonging the agony, but at the moment he couldn't find it in himself to care.

"That's okay!" he said. "I don't mind, really."

"I'll find you something of mine to wear," Minato promised, before turning in the opposite direction. "Come on. Let's go see your new home."

_'Home?'_

Naruto was suitably curious as Minato led him all the way across the village, past the Hokage Tower, and down a trail into the woods. He was in awe; he'd been in forests before to scavenge for food, but they hadn't been as beautiful as they were here. Tall, imposing trees rose from the ground, and clusters of wildflowers were scattered all around him. Up ahead, some trees bent over the path, forming an archway that ran as far as he could see.

He was so enthralled by the canopy of leafy trees that he didn't see the upturned root in front of his foot.

He tripped most spectacularly, and was speeding toward the ground before a warm hand grabbed his own moments before his face smashed against the road.

"You okay?" Minato asked, pulling the boy back to his feet.

Naruto nodded.

"Let's keep going, then," Minato said.

As the two continued on their way, Minato made no motion to let go of Naruto's hand. Neither did Naruto.

It was several minutes later that the trail finally ended, and when Naruto looked up at the house they'd arrived at, his breath was taken away.

_'Whoa!'_

Naruto was amazed at the magnificent house standing in front of him. It was practically a mansion, something fit for royalty, yet with a refreshing simplicity uncommon in houses such as this. The house overlooked a large pond and garden, and with the abundant wildlife surrounding it, the entire area had a tranquil serenity to it. He supposed it made sense. Minato was the Hokage; of course he'd live in a gorgeous house like this.

And now, Naruto thought gleefully, _he _got to stay there!

"Home sweet home!" Minato declared, sliding open the door with an exaggerated flourish that made Naruto giggle. "After you."

Naruto stepped inside the house, his eyes wide open with wonder. The house was a large building that combined aspects of both modern and traditional housing. While the exterior and interior architecture was very traditional, the house was decorated in a way that made it seem both classic and contemporary. The floors were covered with tatami mats, and dozens of paintings, photographs, and tapestries hung from rich mahogany walls.

"This place is _awesome!_" he said.

Minato laughed. "It sure is," he agreed. "This is the Hokage's Mansion. Every Hokage has lived here at one point in their lives."

Naruto didn't answer, still taking in the sight of the incredible house.

"Come on," Minato beckoned, "I'll give you the tour."

Minato led Naruto throughout the house, showing him the kitchen ("It's open all day, every day! Just try not to eat too much before any meals."), the dining room ("We have a lot of guests, if you were wondering about the thirty foot table."), the library ("The only room you're not allowed to have food in!"), and the rest of the rooms, before they came up to the last hallway.

"This is where all the bedrooms are," he told Naruto. "Hmm… Let's see…"

Minato stood thoughtfully for a few seconds, before snapping his fingers. "I know!" He went to the furthest door down the hallway, and peeked inside. "Good, it's clean." He gestured for Naruto to enter.

Naruto poked his head inside the door, and instantly fell in love with the room. It was so _orange! _The walls and floors were brown, but the bed, the rug, the dresser: _it was all orange!_

"Do you like it?" Minato asked, to which Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "I'd hoped so! Kushina decorated this room just in case we had any children staying here. It's a good thing you two have the same favorite color!"

For Naruto, Kushina's awesomeness just rose by _at least _four levels.

"Wait here a second," Minato said, walking back down the hallway. "I'll find you something to wear. You're probably sick of those paper hospital clothes."

Personally Naruto didn't think his current attire was that bad, (hey, it was free!), but he nodded anyway.

While Minato was scavenging for clothes, Naruto eyed the orange bed in the corner of the room. _'It sure looks comfy…' _Figuring that Minato would take a little while to get back, he ran up to the bed and jumped, landing flat on his belly.

_'Ahhh…'_

Naruto couldn't remember much after that. All he could think of was that _this was the nicest bed he'd ever slept in. _It was _so _comfy!

_'I think I'll close my eyes for a little bit…'_

* * *

Minato stepped back into the orange room, bearing an armful of clothes. "All right, Naruto, I think I found a couple of-"

He stopped talking when he saw Naruto. The six year-old was fast asleep, his arms wrapped tightly around his pillow.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he quietly set the pile of clothes on the dresser. He carefully picked up Naruto from the bed, rearranging the covers and placing Naruto under them. The boy was in too deep of a sleep to notice.

Minato turned the lights off, and shut the door enough so that a crack of light still shone through. _'Sleep well, Naruto.'_

After reassuring himself that Naruto was alright to be left alone, he quietly retreated into the kitchen. He went to the locked cabinet in the corner of the room, took out a single bottle and cup, and sat down at the table.

Only then did he allow his calm façade to slip. He propped his elbows up on the table and let his head fall into his hands.

What an eventful few days it had been. Everything had seemed perfectly normal; better than, actually. His wife told him she was pregnant, they'd had an enormous celebration, and he was overjoyed that he was going to become a father.

Now he wasn't going to be a father, his wife was hospitalized, the Kyuubi had disappeared, and a six year-old orphan who may have possibly been in an abusive situation had _traveled back in time._

He'd be damned if that didn't deserve at least _one _drink.

He poured the sake into the cup, and downed it in one gulp. _For Kushina's suffering. _

The next cup came soon after. _For the Kyuubi's disappearance._

Another cup. _For Naruto, thrust into the past with no way to return._

He drank the next cup especially quickly. _For when I have to go back to work…_

His head felt light, and he leaned back in his chair and sighed. For once, it had seemed as though everything would go right, as though maybe he could have a chance at the family he was deprived of as a child. Clearly, there was someone up there who harbored a deep hatred for him.

_'The baby would've been a boy,' _he thought absently, and reached for the bottle once more. _'I know it.'_

He poured himself one last cup of sake and drank to the son he never had.

* * *

"Wait… _what?_" Kushina froze, the stick of dango in her hands halting inches in front of her face.

Minato had brought dango to the hospital that morning, as promised. Kushina had been awake when he'd arrived, gazing out the window with a wistfulness that sent a cold pang through his heart. She grinned when she saw him come in, and eagerly dug into the dango he'd brought. Once he was sure no one else was listening, he'd told Kushina exactly who Naruto was.

"He's from the future," Minato repeated, snatching a piece of dango for himself. "I know it's hard to wrap your head around, but…"

"No, no, I believe you," she said, placing the stick of dango back on the plate. "Still, though… a _time-traveler._ I didn't think something like that was even possible. Who else knows?"

"Sarutobi-sama, Kakashi, and Rin. We're planning on telling Tsunade and Jiraiya as well, but aside from them no one else can know."

Kushina nodded. "Right. So… what exactly happened?"

Minato sighed. "We don't know. Naruto says that he was blown off the Hokage Mountain by a strong wind," here, Kushina sighed in relief: the boy hadn't tried to kill himself, "and next thing he knows, he's in the hospital, six years in the past. The story we're telling everyone is that Naruto was orphaned not long ago, and that we're taking care of him until we can find a permanent caretaker."

"That sounds like it should work," Kushina said. "But what do you mean, he was _blown off _the Hokage Mountain?"

Minato shrugged sheepishly. "I don't know! That's just what Naruto told me. I'm sure it was caused by the strange person he mentioned seeing before he fell. If I had to guess, I'd say that in order to travel back in time he had to be moving at a certain speed."

Kushina frowned. "Sounds like a stupid method if it sent him to the hospital."

He agreed silently, the sight of the bloodied and broken boy still cemented in his mind.

"Did he get settled in alright?" Kushina asked.

"He sure did," Minato said. "Fell asleep the moment he hit the bed, I'm guessing – the one in that extremely orange room you decorated. He was still sleeping when I came here, so I left him some breakfast in the kitchen."

Kushina shivered. "Breakfast? Breakfast that _you _made?"

"It's onigiri!" he quickly assured her. "I know how to make onigiri, I promise it isn't poisonous!"

She gave him a look, before conceding. "Well, you can at least make a _mediocre _onigiri, I'll give you that. Anyway, did you buy him any clothes yesterday? These hospital gowns aren't very sturdy."

"We tried to buy clothes after we ate dinner yesterday, but the store closed early," Minato explained. "Luckily, I found some clothes at home that looked like they'd fit; my first shinobi outfit."

"I remember that old thing," Kushina said. "The giant blue blob. Didn't know you kept it!"

He grinned. There were too many memories associated with that outfit; there was no way he would've thrown it away. And what did she mean, _blue blob? _Blue was a perfectly acceptable color!

The two of them finished the rest of the dango in silence. After the food was all eaten, Minato saw Kushina's hands fist the sheets on her bed. She was looking anxiously at her lap, and Minato knew something was upsetting her.

"Minato…" Kushina said softly, her voice betraying her unease. "There's something that's been troubling me."

She didn't have to elaborate any further: Minato knew exactly what she was referring to.

"Jiraiya told you, then?"

She nodded. "He didn't need to, though. I could… I could _feel_ it. Like a weight was lifted that I didn't know I was carrying." She looked him straight in the eyes. "Minato… how could this happen? How could the Kyuubi just… disappear?"

Minato stared at the floor, his hands balled into fists because he didn't know, he didn't _know_ how _anything _like this could happen. And this ignorant, pathetic, _uselessness_ he felt was something he'd always hated.

"I just don't _know,_" he said, making no effort to hide the self-loathing he was feeling. "I don't know if it's dead, if it's been captured, if it escaped, I just don't _know, _and I'm _sorry_-"

He almost didn't notice when a warm hand grabbed his own, and his blue eyes met hers.

"We'll figure it out, Minato," she said, a knowing glint in her eyes. "It's alright. If anyone can find out why this happened, it's you."

And hearing those words from her mouth, he could believe them.

"Thanks," he said gratefully, before smirking in self-mockery. "Look at me, getting so worked up like this. I'm the _Hokage_; it's pathetic. I should be trying to fix the problem, not panic about it. And people say _I'm _the level-headed one."

Kushina smacked him good-naturedly, and opened her mouth to respond before a nurse walked into the room.

"Good morning Hokage-sama!" the nurse greeted, setting down a clipboard on the bedside table. "How are you feeling, Kushina-san?"

Kushina grumbled. "I told you all, I'm _fine. _I just need to get out of here!"

The nurse giggled. "Unfortunately, we have to run a few more tests, just to be safe," she told her, before turning to Minato. "If everything turns up alright, she'll be ready to leave later this afternoon."

He smiled. "See, that's not so bad, right Kushina?"

Kushina's face twisted in fear. "Minato, that's _hours!_"

The nurse went to help her out of bed. "We have the first test ready, Kushina-san, so if you could follow me, please?" The nurse had already grabbed Kushina's arms and was pulling her toward the exit.

"No! Minato-kun, save me!" she cried, already being pulled into the hallway.

"Can't do, Kushina-chan! But I'll be back this afternoon with Naruto, don't worry!" Minato said reassuringly.

He could hear Kushina shouting expletives at him all the way down the hall, and he sighed in amused exasperation. She _really_ hated hospitals.

He supposed it was time for him to head back home and check up on Naruto. They still had some clothes shopping to do, after all. He just hoped that the boy hadn't gotten into any trouble while he was gone.

* * *

When Naruto awoke the next morning, he was taken aback by how well-rested he felt. The deep-set tension that had always rested in his bones seemed to have eased, and his muscles were more relaxed than they'd ever been before. His chest felt funny too, like someone had been sitting on it for the past six years and had finally gotten up.

He decided that he wasn't going to think about anything. He was just going to here, basking in the sunlight shining through the window, perfectly content. Eventually, he supposed that it was time to get up, and reluctantly he pulled the covers down and rolled out of bed.

He looked at the large, orange room, and everything came rushing back.

_'Oh, right! I'm in the past, sleeping in the Yondaime Hokage's house… This is so cool!' _It might've been strange how easily he was adapting to the situation, but then again, he'd never been normal.

He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, and almost stumbled. It was after ten-thirty! He couldn't believe he slept in so late; what if Minato got mad? He tried to convince himself that if the man was actually angry, he'd have woken Naruto up by now, but his efforts failed.

He hesitantly went to the room's door, and saw a small note pinned on the door. He ripped it off to get a better look at it.

_Good morning, sleepyhead!_

_I'm at the hospital right now to visit Kushina. I would've brought you along, but I figured you'd want to sleep in a bit. _

_I won't be gone too long, and once I get back we can buy you something to wear besides my old clothes! (I put those on the dresser.)_

_There's breakfast on the kitchen table if you get hungry. Eat as much as you'd like! _

_-Minato_

Naruto smiled as he read the note, his apprehension vanishing. And, if possible, his chest felt even lighter.

He checked above the dresser for the clothes Minato left and was surprised to find an outfit that was almost his size. A small, deep blue turtleneck was folded next to a pair of cargo pants of the same shade, and both looked very well-worn. At the foot of the dresser lay a pair of sandals.

He tried on the outfit, and although he had to roll up the sleeves and pant legs a few times, they fit quite nicely (although they could stand to have just a _little _bit of orange in them). The sandals were only a size too large, but he didn't have to wear those yet, so he left them by the dresser.

At that moment his stomach grumbled particularly loudly, and he decided that eating breakfast would be a very good idea.

He folded up the note and stuck it in his pants pocket, and ventured outside his room to find the kitchen. It took him a little while; he found many doors that _looked_ like the right one, but led into various other rooms: other rooms that had no food in them, and were therefore useless.

Eventually he stumbled into the right room, and nearly cried tears of joy at the sight of food. The plate on the table contained several onigiri, and there was a tall glass of orange juice that was surprisingly still cold. The breakfast was very simple, yet better than what Naruto usually ate.

A look of horror crossed his face when he remembered Kushina's warning of Minato's atrocious cooking skills. He looked at the innocent-looking onigiri with suspicion; they didn't _look_ inedible, but Naruto knew better than to trust by sight alone.

Hesitantly, he nibbled on one of the onigiri, and guessed that to the average person they might've tasted pretty standard. To Naruto, they were absolutely delicious.

He ate greedily after that, determined to eat as much as he could. He managed to consume five of the rice balls and most of his orange juice before his stomach was full. He leaned back in his chair, holding his belly that ached after eating so much, so quickly.

There were four onigiri left, and Naruto frowned as his old habits kicked in. Did he leave the leftover food there, or did he save it for later? He'd been so used to never knowing when he would get his next meal that the thought of leaving the food there seemed almost unfathomable.

Reaching a compromise with himself, he took two of the onigiri and wrapped them in a napkin. He ran back to his room and evaluated it carefully, before deciding to hide the food inside his nightstand's drawer.

_'Just in case,' _he thought, memories of his stomach churning in hunger flitting through his mind. _'Just in case.'_

He stood there for a few seconds in thought, before realizing something.

He was _bored._

Minato hadn't mentioned when he had left, or when he'd return. Naruto could be by himself for mere minutes or a number of hours.

Well, he supposed Minato wouldn't mind if he played outside for a bit. He was itching for some fresh air, and the chance to run around without a care in the world sounded too good to pass up. He slipped on the sandals by the dresser and left the room.

It took a bit of navigation, but finally he found a door that he thought would lead to the garden outside. He swung it open, and his jaw dropped.

The door didn't lead to the garden. It led to somewhere even _better._

A training ground.

Excitement coursed through his veins as he took in the sight of the grounds. He'd never seen so much cool shinobi equipment before! There were training dummies and logs off to the side, and a large cabinet nearby seemed to hold all sorts of weapons. The entire grounds seemed to have areas with completely different environments. There was a small lake, a forested area, a large stretch of sand, and a grassy field as well.

_'No wonder Minato wanted to become the Hokage!_' Naruto would want to become the Hokage too, if it meant he got to live in a super cool house with an amazing training ground like this.

He decided that he would start with some kunai practice. His class at the Academy had only recently begun to practice with kunai, and they were still months away from using shuriken. Their sensei explained that shuriken lessons would come later, as more experience was needed to avoid hurting oneself.

While his peers were steadily getting the hang of throwing the kunai, he had still struggled enormously to hit even a single target. He hadn't bothered to ask his teachers for additional help; he knew they wouldn't give him any.

He ran over to the cabinet of what he hoped were weapons, and was not disappointed when he swung open the doors. There were some swords hanging on the inside of the doors, and there were boxes of shuriken, kunai, explosive tags, shinobi wire, and even a few Fūma shuriken he'd seen some older shinobi wear on their backs.

The sight almost made him drool. As much as he wanted to pick up a sword and practice with that, he knew he had to work on his kunai skills. He reached for the box of kunai, before he saw a box of a type of weapon he'd never seen before.

They were shaped like kunai, but they had a smaller prong on each side. The handle was thicker than normal kunai, and had a strange seal wrapped around the hilt. He picked one up, noting that they were a little heavier than normal kunai were.

It was very tempting to practice with the special kunai, but he knew that he needed to get his regular kunai skills up before he should use those. Reluctantly, he put the strange kunai back in its box, and grabbed the box of regular kunai instead.

With the box in hand, he went over to where the training dummies were lined up. He stood ten feet away from one of the dummies and set the box down, picking up a single kunai and twirling it in his hand.

_'Alright, just like Sensei showed you.' _Naruto took a deep breath, and moved into the stance that his sensei had instructed him to use. He focused intently on the circled target on the dummy's chest, evaluating its position and distance from his kunai and adjusting his stance accordingly.

He took another deep breath, and with the utmost concentration, threw the kunai.

The kunai buried itself into the wall, two feet away from the dummy's right leg.

Naruto gritted his teeth as his chest fell with disappointment. He tried to shake off his frustration; he knew his aim was terrible, that's why he was practicing!

He reached for another kunai from the box, reassumed the stance, and threw the kunai again.

Three feet away from its left arm.

A foot away from its head.

One kunai even went through the small space between the dummy's chest and its left arm.

Again and again he threw the many kunai, his brow furrowing in concentration until he reached into the box to find he'd run out of the knives.

His heart _hurt_ with the disappointment he felt as he glanced at the result of his throwing spree. Aside from a few nicks made in the sides of the dummy, not a single kunai had landed on the target.

His hands clenched into fists, before he shoved the feeling of failure in the back of his mind. It didn't matter; he'd just keep practicing some more. With enough of it, he was _sure _to get better.

He carried the box over to where most of the kunai were lodged in the wall, and pulled each one out carefully. It took more effort than he'd thought; the kunai were buried very deep inside the wall.

After all of the kunai were back in the box, he went back to the same spot he'd thrown the kunai from, and reassumed his stance. The next kunai he threw _almost_ nicked the dummy's head.

He grabbed another kunai, and concentrated so intently on the target that he didn't hear the footsteps behind him.

"Having fun?"

Naruto froze.

Oh no.

Oh, _no. _

He turned around slowly to face the man behind him, and he felt waves of cold terror roll over him.

Minato had a very stern look on his face, and his arms were folded across his chest.

His entire being constricted in fear. He'd ruinedit. He had absolutely _ruined_ it. He should've known better; of _course _Minato wouldn't want him snooping around his house, let alone stealing his weapons and practicing in histraining grounds! What was he thinking?

And of course the man he infuriated was one of the strongest shinobi in_ history._ Forget about avoiding harm – he already knew that was inevitable. His main priority was getting out of this situation _alive._

"I'm so, so sorry!" Naruto choked, his body shaking with unconcealed terror. "I didn't mean to snoop around your house without your permission, I shouldn't have, I wasn't thinking! I know I shouldn't have taken your weapons and used them and damaged your training equipment, and I promise I'll buy you new ones and repair the training dummies I scratched!" He had absolutely no idea how he would get the money to do so, but he would do anything if it meant he didn't have to die.

The man blinked. "What?"

Naruto's mind reeled. He'd spoken too quickly! He didn't think he could repeat his apology without stumbling over the words. Oh great, now he'd be even _more _angry.

Minato's firm gaze softened substantially. "I'm not upset about that, Naruto – I told you, this is your home now. You're allowed to look around it."

At Naruto's blank stare, the man continued. "I'm _upset _because practicing with kunai is dangerous. What if you'd cut your hand? If you were seriously injured, nobody would be here to help you." The man paused.

"It's okay for you to practice; in fact, I'm proud of you for taking the initiative to train in your free time. But _only _do so with adult supervision! Okay?" Minato gave him a comforting grin.

Naruto was silent, still staring at the man. What did Minato mean? He was upset because he could've gotten hurt? He remembered when he'd accidently sliced his hand open with a kunai the first day of practice at the academy, and Sensei had just brushed him off with a, 'toughen up, brat. Can't handle a little pain?' Why was Minato so different?

Tense seconds passed, and Naruto remained silent. After a while, the reassuring smile slipped off of Minato's face.

"Naruto," Minato said softly. "Come here."

He stiffened. He knew this was coming… he just wasn't ready. He knew there was no way he could run; there was nowhere to hide, and the man would catch him for sure.

Little by little he inched toward the man, his hands clenched tight, stepping forward until he stood right in front of Minato.

Minato dropped to his knees, and Naruto closed his eyes and bowed his head. Minato reached his arms around Naruto's body. _'reaching to choke me, no, to stab me from behind, to tear out my throat, no, no, no-'_

Nothing happened.

Naruto opened one eye tentatively. Minato had wrapped his arms around Naruto's body: tightly, but not painfully. It took him several seconds before he realized what was happening.

Minato was hugging him.

"I'm not angry with you, Naruto," Minato said quietly. "And I'm not going to hurt you."

The next words came out of Naruto's mouth before he could think to hold them back.

"Promise?"

Minato hugged him tighter. "I _promise._"

He didn't know whether it was the sheer conviction in the older man's voice or the words themselves that caused Naruto to lift his own arms and hug Minato back.

They stayed like that for a few minutes. Eventually Minato pulled back, placing his hands on Naruto's shoulders and giving him a kind look. "You okay?"

He nodded slowly.

Minato smiled. "Good." He stood up, and walked over to where Naruto had placed the box of kunai.

"Since we're already out here, and you've already been practicing for a while, why don't we continue?" Minato asked, reaching for a kunai and holding it out to him. "I can give you some pointers too, if you'd like."

He blinked. "Really?" he asked hopefully, taking the kunai from Minato's hands.

"Really," Minato said. "But before we begin, I have a few questions to ask you."

Naruto was a little apprehensive, but nodded anyway. "Sure."

"You're not in the academy, right?" Minato asked.

Naruto blushed; the man had probably come to that conclusion from his terrible throwing skills. "Um, no… I'm halfway through my first year."

The man look confused. "Halfway? But it's only…" He trailed off, before his eyes lit up in understanding. "What day was it when you came back in time?"

"It was… November twenty-seventh, I think," Naruto replied.

"November, huh? That's what I thought," Minato said. "Today is April fourth."

"April?" Naruto groaned. "That means I have to start the academy all over again!" The last six months had been torture, and repeating them was the absolute _last_ thing he wanted to do.

Minato chuckled. "Hey, at least you'll be a step ahead of everyone!" His eyes widened as he realized something. "Naruto, what day is your birthday?"

"October tenth." Naruto couldn't keep the distaste out of his voice.

If Minato noticed his bitter tone, he chose not to question it. "Okay. So, that means you're six years and… forty-nine days old. So, since today's April fourth, then that means you'd turn seven on," the man paused to do mental math, "…February fifteenth. So it's kind of like a temporary replacement birthday!"

"February? Replacement birthday?" Naruto asked.

"Yup!" Minato said. "Of course, I can understand if you don't want to switch your birthday-"

"No," Naruto interrupted quietly. "It's alright." A small smile spread on his face. "I didn't like my old one that much anyway."

He saw Minato frown, and wondered what the older man was thinking. Had he said too much?

After a few seconds, the man grinned weakly. "Right! So, for now, your birthday is February fifteenth. But before I got distracted, I meant to say: the Academy year begins next Monday. Do you want me to enroll you? I'm not sure how long you'll be here, so you technically don't have to, but I thought I would offer just in case."

Naruto was hesitant. He never liked the Academy: the teachers were mean, his classmates hated him, and he felt like he never learned anything. On the other hand, he didn't want to be a nuisance to Minato by lazing around all day. After a minute or two of thinking, he came to a decision.

"Sure!" He grinned. "Like you said, it'll be pretty cool to already know everything." He wasn't sure if he made the right decision or not, but only time would tell.

"I'll sign you up first thing tomorrow morning, then," Minato said, before turning to look at the nearly unmarred training dummy Naruto had been practicing on. "I see you were practicing your aim, huh? Let's keep working from there."

Naruto flushed, self conscious of his complete lack of skill.

Minato noticed, and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Hey, no need to get embarrassed! All it takes is some time and practice."

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes regained their determined glint. "Right!"

"Alright, now, first things first; I want to see your stance," Minato said, stepping back a few feet.

Naruto nodded; when students first begin to train with thrown weapons, they're shown a stance that makes aiming much easier. As the students get older and more experienced, they can then start to move away from that stance, and practice aiming while in motion. Naruto moved into the pose that Sensei had shown him, eyes focused on his target.

He remained like that for several seconds, until he realized Minato had yet to say a word. He turned to look at the man, who had an unreadable expression on his face.

"Who showed you this stance?" Minato's voice betrayed none of his emotion, and Naruto wasn't sure what he was thinking.

"Sensei did," Naruto said, confused by the man's tone. "He said that since I was smaller than everyone else, I had to learn a special stance." Had he messed up? He was sure this was how his sensei had shown him.

Minato stayed silent, and for a second he looked almost angry.

"Forget what your sensei showed you," Minato said, and Naruto thought he sounded somewhat bitter. "Clearly he didn't know what he was talking about."

Naruto looked at the ground. Sensei probably _had _known what he was talking about; or, rather, he knew who he was talking to. He should've known better than to listen to what Sensei said. He wished that he'd remembered the stance his sensei had shown the rest of the class.

"Lift your right elbow up," Minato said, and Naruto followed the man's directions. "Good. Now, move your right leg out and forward a little; it should be the closest thing to your target. And try moving your left arm out a little to help balance yourself."

"Like this?" he asked, noting that the new stance felt a lot more natural than the one his sensei had shown him.

Minato nodded. "Perfect. Now, throw that kunai."

He breathed in deeply, and he focused on the target more intently than he had all morning. His eyes were glued to the circled target painted on the dummy's chest. _'You can do it, Naruto. Just relax!' _He took one more deep breath, and let the kunai fly.

The kunai soared through the air, and buried itself into the dummy's right shoulder. It hadn't hit the target he'd been aiming for, but _he hit the dummy._

"I hit it!" Naruto cried, beaming up at Minato. "I actually hit it!" Normally it took him around a hundred tries to hit the training logs in class, but he'd just hit the training dummy on his first try!

Minato gave him a proud smile, and ruffled his hair. "You sure did! I bet it'll be no time at all until you're hitting the center every time!"

Naruto felt his heart warm up from the man's kind words. No one had ever believed in him like that before.

He continued to practice for the next half-hour, his aim steadily improving as Minato gave him tips every so often.

After he hit the dummy's center four consecutive times, he decided that he wanted to try something different. He pulled the last three kunai out of the box, holding two in his left hand and one in his right. He could see Minato glancing at him curiously, and Naruto hoped that he didn't mess this up.

After a few seconds of mental preparation, he let the kunai in his right hand fly through the air. Immediately after he let go, he grabbed another kunai from his left hand and threw that one as well, the third kunai following not long after. With anticipation, he looked to see the results of his throwing spree.

The first kunai had hit the dummy's target dead-center. The second had impaled the center of the target on the dummy to the left of the one he'd been training with. The third, the one on the right.

"_Whoa! _Did you see that?" Naruto asked, turning around to face Minato. "I hit them! I hit all three of them! Right in the target, too!"

Pride shone from Minato's eyes. "That was very impressive!" he said, and Naruto beamed. "The Academy won't know what hit them."

Naruto ran to pick up the kunai so he could hide the enormous grin on his face. Only a few were wedged in the wall, the rest having been firmly stuck in the dummy. He was excited to see that the majority of them were located near the target on its chest.

"Naruto, I want to ask you something," Minato said seriously, as Naruto ran back to place the kunai in the box.

"Okay," Naruto said, a little puzzled.

"Why do you want to be a shinobi?"

Naruto's eyes opened wide in shock, before a small smile of understanding crossed his face. _That_ question, huh.

_"What do you mean, Jiji?" Naruto asked._

_The Sandaime finished signing a piece of paperwork, and looked him in the eyes. "I meant exactly what I said, Naruto. Why do you want to become a shinobi? The Academy training is much more difficult than the civilian school. Why would you want to go through that instead?"_

_"Um…" Naruto sat silently for a few seconds. "So I can become stronger?" He'd phrased it as a question rather than an answer._

_The Sandaime sighed, and Naruto knew he'd said the wrong thing. _

_"I'll tell you what, Naruto," the old man said, leaning back in his chair. "If you can give me one good reason why you want to enter the Academy, I will gladly sign you up. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until you're eight years old, just like everyone else."_

_"What? But that's two whole years!" Naruto knew that there was no way he could wait that long._

_The Hokage nodded. "Yes, it is. But if you can prove that you're truly dedicated to this, then, like I said, I will enroll you. The application deadline is next week, so you have some time to think it over."_

_Naruto grumbled, and ran to the exit door. "I'll be back in a little bit, Jiji! And I'll have your answer too!"_

_The Sandaime smiled at him. "I look forward to it, Naruto. Good luck."_

_Naruto was confident that he would find the answer Jiji was looking for in no time. After a few days, he'd come up with a few answers that he thought would work: so he could learn super cool jutsu and kick people's butts, and so he could get strong enough so that people would leave him alone._

_The Hokage had flat-out rejected the first one, and gave the second one a moment's thought before refusing that one as well. _

_Naruto was upset that the Hokage hadn't accepted those answers, but he hadn't let that bother him. He still had some time left, after all._

_By the end of the sixth day, he was rightfully nervous. He needed to have an answer by the next day, and he didn't know where he could find one!_

_He ended up walking to a park that afternoon, and settled himself on a branch of his favorite tree so he could think. After a few hours, he'd yet to come up with a good enough reason._

_Frustrated, he'd moved to jump down, but stopped when he saw a commotion below._

_"What do you want?" A boy around Naruto's age asked fearfully, protectively clutching a small white dog in his arms. He was surrounded by four older boys that looked about thirteen years old, and they looked less than happy._

_"What do we want? I'll tell you, dog-breath!" one of the boys sneered. "Your sister made us all look like complete fools in the last Chuunin exams when she was the only one who was promoted!"_

_"And like we'd take getting outperformed by an eleven year-old girl and not do anything about it," another boy said menacingly. "So instead of going after her, we're going after her little brother."_

_The younger boy was shaking, and so was Naruto. He tried to will himself to move, to jump down from that tree and defend the boy and his dog, but his muscles were frozen._

_One of the older boys pulled his fist back to punch the boy with the dog, before he was thrown to the ground by a large husky-like dog._

_"HEY! What do you think you're doing?" a girl with long brown hair shouted, running up to the group with two more huskies at her side. She took one look at her brother's tear-stained face, and her face twisted into a snarl._

_"Dammit!" one of the boys shouted, and ran away with the other two. They were quickly pursued by the three huskies, and the boy who had reached to punch the girl's brother was pulled up by his collar._

_The girl punched him in the jaw, and he fell to the ground. He glared at her as he clutched his mouth. "You bitch!" he said, scrambling to stand up and ran to follow his peers._

_"Stay away from my brother!" the girl shouted after them, before turning to the little boy. "Are you alright, Kiba? Did they hurt you?" _

_"No," the boy sniffled, and rubbed his eyes. "Nee-chan, you were so cool though!"_

_His sister laughed. "Just doing my job as a shinobi and a big sister, that's all. Now, come on! Dinner's almost ready, that's why I went looking for you!" She grabbed her brother's hand, and the two of them walked off, unaware of the boy watching them._

_Naruto remained motionless in the tree for a whiles afterward, processing the events that had just occurred._

_That girl was strong, enough to scare away four other shinobi. Her brother had stared at her with such admiration, said she was cool. And the girl…_

'Just doing my job as a shinobi.'

_He thought of Jiji, Teuchi-san, Ayame-chan, and he found his reason._

_'That's it" he shouted, ecstatic at finally finding an answer. He knew that Jiji would be happy with this one, he had to be!_

_He jumped down from the tree and bolted toward the Hokage tower, running as fast as he could so he could catch Jiji before he left. He'd managed to make it in less than five minutes, and when he finally reached Jiji's office and flung the door open, he was completely out of breath._

_The Sandaime had been finishing up for the day, and was startled by Naruto's appearance. _

_"I have your answer, Jiji!" Naruto shouted energetically._

_The Sandaime quirked an eyebrow at Naruto's determined face. "Oh? Well then, Naruto, I'll ask you again. Why do you want to be a shinobi?"_

"To protect the people I care about."

Minato's eyes widened, and he seemed shocked into silence. After a few seconds, a gigantic grin spread across his face.

"To protect people, huh?" Minato said, sounding absolutely thrilled. "You'll make a good shinobi, Naruto. Maybe you'll even end up a Hokage, like me!"

Naruto wrinkled his nose. Hokage? He'd pass on that, thanks; he didn't want to end up an old geezer like Jiji!

Minato laughed at his expression. He picked up the box of kunai, and went to place it back in the weapons cabinet.

"I think that's enough training for the day; look at how much you've improved already!" he said. "It's time to go get you some new clothes; I won't force you to wear my old clothes forever! We can grab some lunch after that, and then we'll go rescue Kushina from the hospital. Does that sound good?"

Naruto nodded, masking his anxiety at the prospect of shopping. The shopkeepers would always refuse to sell him any of their products; his only clothes were gifts from Jiji, and even then those didn't come often. He guessed that Jiji didn't know that he was refused service.

Still, Naruto was wary of shopping. The shopkeepers would see what a monster he was, then they'd tell Minato, and then Minato would think he was a monster too, and-

_"I'm not going to hurt you. I **promise.**"_

_No. _Minato wouldn't do that. He _wouldn't._

In the one day that Naruto had known the man, he had already grown to trust him, perhaps even more than anyone he'd ever met. Well, aside from Jiji. _'Maybe it's a Hokage thing?'_ So, instead of being hesitant, Naruto decided he was going to face this ordeal with unwavering resolve.

He wasn't alone, after all.

* * *

Minato had a difficult time wrapping his head around what just happened.

It should've been simple. He was supposed to get home, find Naruto eating breakfast at the table, tell him how Kushina was doing, then go and buy some clothes. Easy, straightforward, no worries.

Of course, it didn't exactly work out as planned.

When he'd arrived home, Naruto hadn't been in the kitchen. The stray thought that Naruto was still asleep crossed his mind, but was discarded once he saw the near empty plate of onigiri. No, Naruto was awake. All he had to do was find him.

He'd called around the house for him, but no one had answered. He'd considered the thought that Naruto was outside, and he went to the back yard door. On his way there, he passed by the half-open door to the training grounds.

He peeked out the door, and sure enough, there was Naruto, throwing kunai at one of the training dummies. From the back, it was almost like looking at a clone; the spiky blond-haired boy was wearing Minato's first shinobi outfit, and from the back he looked identical to Minato when he'd been that young.

Naruto was standing awkwardly as he threw each kunai, and failed to hit the target even once. The boy's aim needed a lot of work, but Minato was impressed by how deep the kunai were lodged into the wall. He was definitely stronger than he looked.

Naruto had collected the rest of the kunai, and was starting to throw them again. Minato doubted that the boy was in the academy; the school year hadn't started yet, and the boy was only six years old. Most people didn't enroll until they were eight. He did wonder, though, why Naruto was practicing his aim in the first place.

Minato had decided that it was probably time for him to step in and admonish the boy. While he admired the boy's determination, he needed to understand that practicing with kunai was dangerous, and he could only do so with adult supervision.

When Naruto turned around, Minato expected to see some embarrassment at being caught red-handed, maybe even a bit of panic.

What he'd _not _expected to see was the pure, unadulterated _fear _shining in Naruto's eyes.

Fear.

Naruto had been _afraid_ of him.

Minato had tried to assure Naruto that he was only upset because he could've hurt himself, and that had only seemed to confuse the boy. It was as if no one had ever been worried for his own welfare before.

Naruto had remained still even after Minato's explanation, and appeared to be expecting some sort of punishment for his actions.

So when Minato pulled Naruto into his arms for a hug, he had felt the boy stiffen in shock. And when he'd declared that he would never hurt him, the tiny "promise?" the boy had uttered had broken his heart.

After he'd been sure that Naruto was alright, he offered to help the boy with his aim. The boy had been embarrassed, but agreed, and Minato had asked to see his stance.

When Naruto showed him the stance his sensei had taught him, Minato had been absolutely livid. That stance would've gotten the boy killed in an _instant. _How terrible of a world would it be in six years, to where an academy instructor could get away with blatantly sabotagingof a six year-old?

What kind of life had that boy suffered through?

And yet, when Minato had asked him why he'd chosen to become a shinobi, that boy…

_"To protect the people I care about."_

"So, what kinds of stuff are we going to buy?" Naruto asked cheerfully, jumping across the rocks on the side of the trail.

"Mostly clothes; shirts, pants, underwear, shoes, stuff like that," Minato replied, deciding that now wasn't the time to dwell on what had happened. "I'd like to buy you a set of blunted kunai too, if we have the time."

"Blunt?" Naruto looked faintly disappointed.

"Hey, they're not so bad!" Minato said. "And you can practice with those on your own, but _only_ those. If you use any of the other weapons without supervision, then I'll have to ban you from the training grounds." He wasn't particularly fond of the idea, but he didn't want Naruto to get injured due to Minato's negligence.

Naruto nodded sincerely, and Minato knew he understood. "Got it!"

The two of them continued toward the clothes store they'd stopped at yesterday. He noticed that the closer they got to the store, the quieter Naruto got. He wondered why Naruto was so nervous to go shopping; as much as he thought about it, he couldn't think of a reason why.

They walked for several minutes before they reached the store, and Minato was pleased to see that it was open this time. He opened the door for Naruto, and followed behind hm.

"Tetsuro-san?" Minato called, looking around the store for the man.

The man in question poked his head out from behind a rack of clothes, before visibly startling. "Hokage-sama!" He rushed over to the store's entrance to greet the man, before looking at Naruto in shock.

"I didn't know you had a son!" he said, visibly stunned.

Minato inwardly chuckled. That was the second time Naruto was mistaken for his son. He knew they had the same eye and hair color, but the similarities ended there.

"He's not my son," Minato explained, grinning a bit. "But don't you recognize him?"

Tetsuro looked intently at Naruto, who was looking at the man with an emotion Minato couldn't place, before the man's eyes lit up in realization.

"You're that boy we brought to the hospital a couple of days ago!" Tetsuro exclaimed. "And you look so much better! I'm glad you're alright."

"Thanks," Naruto said unsurely, and to Minato it almost looked as if the boy expected the man to explode like a bomb.

Minato had no idea that Naruto wasn't seeing the kind, worried clothes-store owner. He had no idea that all Naruto could see was the bitter, feeble man who glared at him with more hatred than most. Naruto was looking at the person the man in front of him would become.

Luckily, Tetsuro didn't seem to notice Naruto's uneasy attitude, and began to lead them excitedly toward the children's section. "So, Hokage-sama, I take it you're looking after him for the time being?"

"Yes," he said, and cringed as he looked at the bright, gaudy clothes around him. "Tetsuro-san, do you have something a little more fitting for a shinobi in training?"

Tetsuro blinked, before chuckling. "Joining the Academy already, huh?" he said cheerfully to Naruto, before leading them in another direction. "Luckily for you, we just received a new shipment of shinobi clothing, and I'm sure we'll find something that fits."

The section they were led to had much more muted colors, Minato noted with approval.

Tetsuro stopped in front of a rack with the smallest clothes size, and left with a, "let me know if you need any help."

Naruto seemed less tense after the shopkeeper left, and started to rifle through the clothes excitedly. The clothes on the rack appeared to be Naruto's size, and there was an assortment of shirts and pants in acceptable colors.

Minato was, of course, all too happy to help Naruto choose what he wanted to wear.

"Minato, you're only picking out blue clothes!"

"Am I? I hadn't noticed! You have to admit, though, this would be a _great_ shirt, right?"

"Minato!"

He laughed, and turned back to look for more clothes before he heard Naruto gasp. "Naruto?"

Naruto pulled out a shirt, his eyes shining. "This one."

It was a dark orange T-shirt, with black borders along the neckline, sleeves, and hem. On the front was the Konoha symbol, outlined in black like the borders were. It wouldn't have been Minato's first choice - the orange was a little too bright to be discrete - , but Naruto seemed absolutely taken with it.

"That should be okay," Minato said, "but just to be on the safe side, why don't we get you a jacket to go with it? That way if the shirt's too noticeable, you can hide it."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Sure!" he said, before searching through the section of jackets.

In the end, Naruto walked out of the store wearing the orange T-shirt and a pair of baggy pants that went down to his ankles (and they were _blue, _Minato thought gleefully). A pair of standard blue shinobi sandals were on his feet, and he had a dark grey jacket tied around his waist. All in all, Minato thought he looked very prepared for the Academy next week.

Minato had also bought a few more shirts in all sorts of colors (in blue, green, grey, blue, black, red, and did he mentionblue?) and some pants as well. Naruto had seemed absolutely thrilled at all the clothes, and a little guilty too, which Minato had to assure him many times that it was okay, and he didn't have to worry about paying for it.

They'd also stopped at a weapons shop next door. Minato picked out a set of blunted kunai and shuriken for Naruto to practice with, and threw in a blank scroll as well.

"What's that for?" Naruto asked curiously, as Minato took out a small brush and began to paint seals on the scroll.

"You'll see," Minato said, before imbuing some of his chakra into the seals. He placed all of the purchases they had made on top of the open scroll, and with a hand seal, the bags disappeared.

"Whoa!" Naruto shouted, jumping back. "What did you do?"

"I sealed the clothes into this scroll," Minato said, picking it up off of the ground. "That way we don't have to lug around all those bags everywhere. Once you're a little older, you should consider studying sealing; it's really quite useful!" He pocketed the scroll, and the two of them walked down the road.

"Hey, can you seal a scroll inside of another scroll?"

Minato opened his mouth to respond, but stopped as he considered the question. "You know… I've actually never thought of that! Let's try it out when we get home, okay?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Awesome!" he shouted, before falling silent. The two of them continued to walk down the street, and it was quiet for a while before Naruto finally spoke up.

"Um, Minato…"

Minato looked back at Naruto, who had stopped in the middle of the road. The boy kept his gaze planted firmly on his feet, and seemed to be internally debating whether or not to speak up.

"Yes?" he asked, curious.

Naruto remained silent few moments, before he raised his head, and Minato was taken aback by the bright, utterly genuine smile on his face.

"Thanks."

Minato blinked, and smiled back. "Anytime."

Naruto ran up a few paces to catch up with the older man, and the two of them resumed their walk. They managed around ten steps before a deep, rumbling roar broke the silence.

The blond boy blushed. "Uh…"

Minato chuckled, mentally scolding himself. It was already two thirty, a glance at his watch told him. Naruto hadn't eaten since early that morning; of course he would be hungry. He needed to make sure his young charge was fed properly.

"Hungry? Let's go get some lunch before we rescue Kushina from the hospital," he said, and Naruto beamed. "Where do you want to eat?"

"Can we get ramen again?" Naruto asked.

Minato looked positively _giddy. _"Of course! I was hoping you'd say that," he said, and Naruto cheered. "Ichiraku's, here we come!"

They hurried to the ramen stand with a skip in their steps, images of delicious miso ramen, pork ramen and chicken ramen dancing in their heads. Minutes later, the aroma of each delicious ramen flavor wafted through the air, and the two ramen addicts rejoiced.

"Long time no see, Minato!" Teuchi said with a chuckle. "Good to see you again too, Naruto. So, what'll it be?"

"Four bowls of miso ramen, please!" Minato said, helping Naruto onto a stool and taking a seat in his own.

Teuchi nodded, and turned around to begin cooking the ramen.

"Is there anything else you need me to get after we eat?" Minato asked Naruto. "I know I must be forgetting a few things."

Naruto shook his head after a few seconds. "Nope!" he said. "I've got everything I-"

"Tou-san! Tou-san, I got the kamaboko from the store!"

A little girl ran down the road toward the ramen stand, holding a wrapped package tightly in her arms. Her brown hair was pulled up into two pigtails held back by a white bandana, and she was smiling widely.

"They didn't have any green onions though," she said, almost at the stand, "so I - Ah!" The girl squealed as she tripped over a rock.

Before Minato could move, Naruto had already leapt out of his seat, diving out on the dirt road and catching the girl moments before she hit the ground.

"Are you okay?" Naruto yelled, helping her to her feet and handing her the package of kamaboko that had fallen out of her arms.

She nodded, blushing furiously as she took back the wrapped package. "Thank you!" she squeaked, failing to hide her embarrassment.

With the gratitude directed at him, Naruto's face took on a pink tint of its own. "Don't worry about it!" he said quickly, avoiding eye contact. He stepped back, his face becoming redder by the second, and quickly jumped back onto his stool.

Minato smirked. Looks like a certain someone just got his first crush.

"Is this the daughter I've been hearing so much about, Teuchi?" he asked jovially as the girl raced behind the counter to hide, still thoroughly mortified.

The other man laughed, placing two bowls of ramen each in front of him and Naruto. "She sure is! Ayame-chan just turned five a few months ago. Looks more like her mother every day." The man paused, and glared pseudo-menacingly at Naruto. "Which reminds me, kid – _don't get any ideas._"

Naruto looked absolutely befuddled as Minato and Teuchi both laughed heartily. After he realized what the ramen chef had meant, his blush returned full-force. He distracted himself by voraciously digging into his ramen. After the two men had stopped laughing, Minato joined him.

Teuchi sighed at the sight of the two ramen addicts _inhaling_ the noodles. He was definitely not complaining, though – those two could probably keep him in business alone.

Throughout the rest of their meal, Ayame kept popping up in the kitchen, helping her father with the dishes and sneaking glances at Naruto every once in a while. Naruto, in turn, tried to subtly impress her in all sorts of ways, from drinking an entire bowl of ramen broth in one gulp, to telling tales of his adventures at the academy.

It was undeniably adorable.

* * *

"Ayame-chan was pretty cute, wasn't she?" Minato asked as the two of them walked away from the ramen stand, headed to the hospital to pick Kushina up.

Naruto blushed. "No!" he denied vehemently. "Wait, I mean yes! I mean… um…"

"I'm just messing with you," Minato said, grinning, before ruffling the boy's hair. Naruto would normally protest to such an action, but for once he let it slide, settling for a simple glare instead.

"Minato-kun!"

The two of them turned around, and Naruto saw Minato wave his hand at the owner of the voice. A woman with a bulging stomach approached, holding the hand of young boy.

She smiled in greeting, before a worried look crossed her face. "I heard about Kushina," she said quietly. "How is she doing? How are _you _doing?"

Minato sighed, and attempted a grin. "She's alright – physically, at least. Emotionally, well… it'll take some time. For both of us."

Naruto saw the pain in the older man's eyes, and wondered what had happened to his wife to make him so sad. He'd seen Minato try and hide it for the majority of the day; every once in a while, he would become lost in thought, silent and pensive until Naruto eventually gave him a nudge. Although somewhat emotionally oblivious, he understood that the man needed time to heal, and as such waited as long as possible before disturbing him from his thoughts.

The woman reached for Minato's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I know you'll make it through, though. You're both very strong."

"Her, especially. Next to her, I'm just a sniveling three year-old brat. Her words, not mine," he said, and they both shared a laugh.

The woman turned her gaze on Naruto. "And who is this lovely little boy? He isn't your son, is he?" she asked, and Naruto's ingrained habit of tensing and waiting for cold glares overtook him momentarily.

"This is Naruto," Minato introduced. "He's an orphan Kushina and I are caring for as of yesterday. We just finished buying some new clothes."

"Hi," Naruto greeted, trying to shake off his wariness. No one had said done anything remotely cruel to him since he'd arrived in the past, and he had to keep telling himself that they never would.

"It's nice to meet you!" the woman said. After a moment, she gave her child a little squeeze of the hand.

"Hello," the woman's son said softly.

"We were just on our way to the hospital to see Kushina," Minato said. "Would you like to join us?"

The woman sighed. "I would love to," she said, "but we must be getting home soon. I'd only intended to be gone for a little while, just to get away. Things are a little… tense, at home."

"Tense? Why?" Minato asked with concern, and Naruto couldn't help but be curious too.

"It's my fault."

Naruto stared at the quiet boy who'd spoken up, and noted the boy's somewhat defeated voice.

"Oh, don't say that, sweetheart. Tou-san is just being difficult; it's not your fault at all," she assured her son, before looking at Minato to explain. "My husband was quite upset when my son expressed his aversion to enrolling in the shinobi Academy."

Naruto was shocked. The boy didn't want to enter the Academy?

"Well, I can sort of understand where your husband's coming from," Minato said, "but I guess he'll just have to-"

"You don't want to be a shinobi?"

Minato and the woman stared at Naruto after his interruption, but he was too focused on the boy in front of him to pay them any notice.

"No, I don't."

"But _why?_" Naruto asked, flabbergasted. Why _wouldn't _he want to be a shinobi? Sure, it took a lot of work, but didn't the pros outweigh the cons?

The boy frowned. "I don't want to hurt people."

Naruto made no notion to hide the shock on his face. To the boy, perhaps it looked as if Naruto hadn't even considered the fact that being a ninja meant hurting, even killing others.

"Are you _stupid? _That's not what it means to be a shinobi _at all_!"

It was the boy's turn to look shocked, clearly not expecting that response. He saw the surprised look on Minato's face from the corner of his eye, and Naruto continued on.

"You become a shinobi to get stronger and stronger, so you can _protect _people, not hurt them! When you have someone you're fighting for, you can get even stronger. And the stronger you are, the more people you can protect! If being a shinobi was only about hurting people, then why would _anyone_ want to be one?"

Naruto knew that by that point everyone was looking at him, but he didn't break his gaze with the boy. They stared at each other for several moments, before the boy looked down at his feet, contemplating what Naruto had said.

Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Minato give him a supportive smile.

"Well, I'm sorry to cut our chat short," Minato said, looking at the woman who appeared to be almost as shocked as her son. "But, Kushina is probably waiting for us by now. It was very nice to see you two."

"Oh… Yes, of course," the woman said dazedly, before shaking herself out of whatever reverie she was in and looking at Naruto warmly. "It was very nice to meet you, Naruto. And Minato, tell Kushina I said hello, if you would."

Minato nodded, before holding Naruto's hand and leading him back down the road.

"Bye!" Naruto called back with a wave, and the two of them went on their way. After a few minutes of walking, Naruto realized that he had never asked for their names.

* * *

As she watched the two walk to the hospital, Uchiha Mikoto looked down at her son, who had yet to say a word. "Are you alright?"

Itachi nodded, still deep in thought.

Mikoto stared at her son for a few seconds, before giving him a smile and an assuring squeeze of his hand. "Let's go home."

"'Kay," Itachi said quietly, and the two of them departed.

* * *

**Did I surprise any of you there at the end? Yes? No? Darn. Well, I tried. **

**I hope this made up for the extremely long wait. I know it probably didn't, but personally I think this is the best chapter I've written yet. Once again, feedback is appreciated! I would especially like to know how this chapter compares to the first five. Is the writing better, or worse? Please let me know!**

**Playlist: (aka. The reason this chapter was written.)  
Plan Three - Brush It Off (THIS ONE. ESPECIALLY. SO GOOD. It's like Breaking Benjamin with orchestral parts. 3)  
Foster the People – Helena Beat  
Draconian – Silent Winter  
The Last Samurai OST – The Final Charge  
Avantasia – Lost in Space  
Chevelle – Closure  
E.S. Posthumus – Mosane Pi  
Kyle Landry – Naruto Medley (Piano)**


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